News and information that journalists need to serve the public and stay safe.
March 13, 2020
No more athletic competition. For sports journalists, the game is still on.

You’re a sports editor and Covid-19 just emptied the arenas, the ball fields, the links. What to do? Plenty.

At USA Today, if you can’t watch sports, help your readers imagine them. At the Charlotte Observer, if the Carolina Hornets stop playing, cover their video doppelgängers. Across the country, sports departments are rethinking coverage.

“Obviously there is still a lot of interest in sports even if the games are not being played,” said Peter Barzilai, the assistant managing editor at USA Today Sports. So when one of his college sport reporters encouraged his Twitter followers Thursday night “as a group therapy” to recall their favorite NCAA tournament of all time, an idea was born.

“So we’re trying to put together some pieces, like favorite moments of the tournament, how we think the tournament would have played out, and helping people have a little distraction,” Barzilai said.

To Matt Stephens, the senior sports editor for McClatchy’s southeast region, the lack of competition means defining sports a bit differently. “I always think the games are the least interesting part of sports. It’s everything else around it that makes sports interesting to me.”

Communicating clearly during a crisis

 Advice from Jill Geisler ,
Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity, Loyola University Chicago
Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership

Q: How do I keep my boss informed without driving them crazy while working remotely?

A: The easiest way to miscommunicate is to make assumptions about what others want or need. Now’s the time to make everything easier with one question: “What’s the best way to communicate with you — and when?” Get clarity on two types of communication — the routine and the urgent. Do the same with colleagues. Sometimes when we work from a distance, we worry that our bosses or teammates think we’re slacking, since they can’t see us. Let’s make a compact among all journalists that we will assume just the opposite. We’re pushing ourselves because nothing is more important in crisis than sharing valuable and valid information. 

Have questions? Ask away.
Newsroom journalists volunteer to help teach as colleges move online

With universities moving in-person courses online , journalism instructors are faced with quickly transitioning traditionally hands-on coursework and feedback to digital formats. Poynter offered a short course for educators in teaching virtually on short notice, and the ONA Educators Facebook group is sharing resources. Journalists are also stepping up to act as fill-in lecturers. Want to help? Contact your alma mater, or reach out to your nearest campus’s journalism department to see topics they need covered. 

Campus closures limit access to the tools students need to learn. Adobe announced Wednesday it is making at-home access available to students who typically use Creative Cloud apps through on-campus labs through May 31. And converting to digital coursework is bringing up issues of equity and digital access points for students. Among the issues? Whether students have computer access to participate in distance learning, and remote access to labs, studios, cameras and other equipment they need to complete class and student media projects. Journalists or not, students are wondering about their on-campus employment . 
 
We want to know what’s happening on your campus. Share how your student newsroom or classroom is coping with and covering COVID-19. Contact Beth Francesco at [email protected] .
'This is our calling'

The Radio Television Digital News Association rounded up guidance from broadcast journalists . Read it all here .  

“Inform, don’t inflame. Be relevant and measured.”
– Jeff Butera , author of “Write Like You Talk”

 "We need people to understand that we have questions and concerns, too, but we're committed to doing this right.”
– Melissa Luck , KXLY news director

“Remember, this is our calling. This is when people need us most and when we provide critical information in a time of need.”
– Bill Dallman , KOMO-TV news director and RTDNA board member

Thanks to Karen Hansen and RTDNA for permission to include highlights from their story .
RESOURCES

List of experts on the disease and reporters covering it (Jeff Jarvis), with thanks to Ferdous Al-Faruque (Danny) for the tip


Culture from the couch
Take a break from coronavirus coverage with a virtual museum tour. Travel and Leisure offers a list — from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris to Brazil’s Museu de Arte de São Paulo — you can explore from your couch to help you recharge when working remotely.

How are you practicing self-care? Share your tips.
This newsletter is written & edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff: Beth Francesco, Jim Kuhnhenn, and Julie Moos. Send us your questions and suggestions for topics to cover.

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