API CEO Michael D. Bolden to head UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

API CEO and Executive Director Michael D. Bolden will join the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism as its eighth dean this summer. Bolden’s vision for the school will emphasize the practical nature of the work he led at API, preparing the next generation of journalists to meet the evolving information needs of a complex, diverse society and to lead resilient, collaborative media businesses.

“The American Press Institute was extremely fortunate to have Michael at the helm for the last three years,” said Barbara Wall, chair of the API Board of Trustees. “Under his impressive leadership, API has played an important role in helping news organizations across the country find new ways to connect with the communities they serve.”

Bolden joined API in February 2022 from the San Francisco Chronicle. During his tenure, API streamlined its mission to focus on four areas key to the success of news organizations: civic discourse and democracy; culture and inclusion; community engagement and trust; and revenue and resilience.

“Michael’s time leading the American Press Institute has inspired meaningful progress and strengthened our mission in important ways,” said Danielle Coffey, President and CEO of the News/Media Alliance, API’s parent organization. “His commitment to advancing journalism, fostering equity, and strengthening the press’s role in our democracy has left a lasting impact on our organization and the industry at large.”

Samantha Ragland, API’s VP of Journalism Strategy, will serve as the interim executive director when Bolden departs. API’s Board of Trustees will conduct a nationwide search for his replacement.

News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.

Civic Discourse & Democracy

>> Multiple journalists injured by police nonlethal rounds while covering LA protests (USA Today) 

Multiple journalists covering the Los Angeles protests of President Trump’s immigration crackdown have been injured by law enforcement firing nonlethal rounds, writes Jeanine Santucci. The Los Angeles Press Club, she writes, has documented more than 30 incidents of media professionals impacted by police actions, which “range from searching a journalist’s bag to firing tear gas or rubber bullets at them.”

Related: As the protests continue and arise in other cities, here are some resources for newsrooms:

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Culture & Inclusion

>> Covering anti-trans executive orders (Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists)

The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists has issued guidance for journalists covering President Trump’s executive orders involving federal policy on gender identity. The group explains what executive orders are and what power they hold, lays out the specific orders and their reach and provides general guidance on how to cover them, including politically charged phrases to be wary of. It also offers peer-to-peer guidance and resources from other groups that might be helpful.

Community Engagement & Trust

>> New from API: Use historical records to deepen community coverage and find new revenue streams

News organizations can help people forge closer connections by tapping into their shared history. What does that look like in practice? It can take any number of forms, as Amy Elliott Bragg writes for API this week. She compiled and distilled some techniques participants discussed during our April Local News Summit in Nashville on local history and identity. Among them: Dig into the archives, visit a local cemetery, find dates and events that resonate with local residents. As Max Kabat, publisher and co-owner of The Big Bend Sentinel in Marfa, Texas, told her: “Local journalism is rooted in capturing the history of a place and its people.”

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Revenue & Resilience

>> News sites are getting crushed by Google’s new AI tools (The Wall Street Journal)

The Wall Street Journal has given a name to the impact that artificial intelligence is having on traffic to news publishers’ websites: “AI armageddon.” Chatbots mean people are avoiding clicking on blue links, “tanking referrals to news sites,” write Isabella Simonetti and Katherine Blunt. “As a result, traffic that publishers relied on for years is plummeting.” Generative AI, they say, is having broad impact across the industry and “rewiring how the internet is used altogether.”

>> Join us: Revenue AMA: How The Forward grows audience across generations

As part of a collaboration with the News Revenue Hub, we’ll hold a Q&A on June 24 at noon ET with Jake Wasserman, engagement editor for The Forward. Come hear its story, including how the team develops its voice on social platforms and uses audience personas to grow readership across generations on Instagram — and how this strategy relates to membership growth. Learn more and register here.

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What else you need to know

🗞️ Medill will launch hub to provide services to Chicago news outlets and continue programs to strengthen local news (Medill Local News Initiative)

📸 Social media creators to overtake traditional media in ad revenue this year (The Guardian)

🎙️ Chicago Public Media welcomes Aron Pilhofer as chief product and membership officer (WBEZ) 

👀 Florida agency tells newspaper to halt reporting angle on foundation associated with governor’s wife (Associated Press)