The Washington Post will welcome its employees to their offices this fall, but before they can enter the newsroom, the media outlet will require all employees to prove that they have been vaccinated. 

Fred Ryan, the newspapers’ publisher, announced the policy to staffers in a memo. The Post intends to make “accommodations” but only for “those with documented medical conditions and religious concerns.” 

“In the many conversations I have had with Post employees across all departments, I have heard the genuine concerns they have for themselves and their families with new COVID variants emerging,” Ryan wrote. 

“Accordingly, our plan is to require all Washington Post employees to demonstrate proof of full COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment beginning with our September 13 office return.” 

Furthermore, the policy includes contractors and guests who wish to enter the Post building on K Street in downtown Washington, DC.

“Even though the overwhelming majority of Post employees have already provided proof of vaccination, I do not take this decision lightly,” Ryan wrote. 

“However, in considering the serious health issues and genuine safety concerns of so many Post employees, I believe the plan is the right one.”

NBC News Now programming debuts this fall, and in preparation for the launch, the company intends to hire hundreds of employees while adding several hours of additional shows.

NBC Universal plans to fill these positions over the next several months, the network has already made more than 70 new hires to staff for its programming on the streaming service. 

“When we combine the power of our portfolio, across our many platforms, our reach and impact is unmatched,” said Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCU News Group, in a statement. 

“Our core focus is to consistently innovate in how our brands deliver distinctive, high-quality journalism. This substantial investment in streaming and digital allows us to meet the needs of news consumers in a rapidly-changing digital media industry.”

The company wants to add a daily evening show and a weekly special newsmagazine series which would be hosted by senior Washington correspondent and anchor Hallie Jackson. 

Meanwhile, Joshua Johnson, who hosts a weekend program on MSNBC, will be receiving an evening news analysis and explainer program.

A new podcast hosted by investigative crime reporter Amanda Lamb casts doubt on the facts surrounding the murder case involving Michael Jordan’s father, James. 

The series is produced by WRAL Studios, with its parent Capitol Broadcasting Company, which co-produced the 2021 Amazon / IMDb TV Original Docu-series Moment of Truth about the Jordan case.

The podcast focuses on one of the defendants in the case, Daniel Green, who was convicted of murdering Jordan with testimony solely from Larry Demery who took a deal in exchange for identifying Green as the triggerman. 

“The podcast is the rest of the story,” said Shelly Leslie, head of streaming and podcasting for the Company and serves as Executive Producer on both projects. “The intimacy of audio allows us to take listeners deeply into the lives of all the central characters in this real-life tragedy, most importantly James Jordan and Daniel Green. Mr. Jordan was more than a celebrity’s father.” 

Episodes one and two will be released on July 22, with weekly episodes released every Thursday through Sept 16.

“My goal in this case, or any case I cover, is to seek the truth, based on facts and evidence,” said Lamb. “We’ll take people back to the scene of the crime, put them in the interrogation room, in the trial, in the echoing walls of a prison, and in the living room at home with Daniel’s mother and sister.” 

Lamb has been in touch with Green from prison, through letters, phone calls and in-person interviews, for the last 10 years. 

“The listener is the jury now, only this time they’ll have all the evidence, and they can decide who’s telling the truth,” she said. 

Follow the Truth is the first true-crime podcast from WRAL Studios & Capitol Broadcasting Company. 

You can follow the podcast on social media @Followtruthpod.