Former Washington Post editor Marty Baron writing book on running a newsroom during Trump era
28 April 2021
Marty Baron, former executive editor of the Washington Post and a Pulitzer Prize recipient, is writing a book on his newsroom leadership during the Trump administration, AP reports.
Why it matters: The book, titled “Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post," could offer rare personal reflections from Baron after he oversaw the Post's editorial transformation under Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — turning it from a regional paper into a national brand.
- “In ‘Collision of Power,’ he not only takes readers inside one of America’s most storied newsrooms, but he’ll also explore the nature of power in the 21st century," Flatiron editor Zachary Wagman said in a statement, per AP.
- "This authoritative and keenly observed book will show just how essential a fearless and independent press is, especially when faced with profound disruption from politics, tech, and other media.”
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.