— Editor/Idea Round-up —
Bearing witness as COVID-19 ravages rural Georgia counties
The all-formats package by Claire Galofaro, Brynn Anderson and Angie Wang focused on one county in southwestern Georgia, where the pandemic is hitting hardest among some of America’s most exposed, in this case rural blacks and the poor.
Finding people who have suffered devastating losses and getting them to talk is hard at the best of times; with this story, the team of global enterprise reporter Claire Galofaro, photographer Brynn Anderson and video journalist Angie Wang also had to cope with the logistical and safety challenges of reporting in a pandemic. They bleached their hotel rooms and cars routinely. They wore masks almost always. They took their temperatures in parking lots. They navigated how to connect with their sources enough to solicit the emotional context needed while also maintaining a safe distance.
Anti-Lockdown Protesters Get in Reporters’ (Masked) Faces
By Marc Tracy | The New York Times
For some reporters, the up-close wrath of anti-lockdown protesters has become a hazard of the job.
On the steps of the statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, shortly before a news conference held by Gov. Mike DeWine, Adrienne Robbins, a reporter at the local NBC affiliate, found herself on the receiving end of a tirade that was captured on video.
The confrontation occurred on May 1, when Ms. Robbins was checking in with the protesters who had gathered to show their opposition to the restrictions that have been in place since March to guard against the spread of the coronavirus.
One protester moved close to the reporter, whose face was partly covered by a surgical mask in keeping with the governor’s request that reporters wear protective gear at news conferences. Ms. Robbins asked the protester to give her some space, to no avail. Raising her voice, the protester complained about the news media in general and the station Ms. Robbins worked for. She accused the reporter of “terrifying the general public.”
Could the coronavirus reset society? Questions we should be asking about post-pandemic life
By Brendan Kiley | Seattle Times
The twin pressures of the coronavirus pandemic and economy-snarling lockdown have dramatically changed just about every aspect of life. As the country begins to emerge from stay-home orders, this is a chance to reevaluate the way our world works. Here are the big, thought-provoking questions local and national experts are wrestling with as we start the recovery process.
Journalists struggle to cover coronavirus story with reduced financial support
By Terry Ganey |
Gateway Journalism Review
In 32 years with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, breaking news reporter Kim Bell has conducted thousands of face-to-face interviews. On the crime beat, she visits victims’ neighbors and families to collect their stories.
“Those are things I would have done before the pandemic.” Bell said recently. “Now I don’t feel comfortable knocking on peoples’ doors.”
For the past two months, Bell has been collecting the news from her home, working the telephone.
The coronavirus contagion has handed journalists a double-edged challenge: Cover one of history’s biggest stories while the story itself is life threatening. And stay with it, even as the virus erodes the financial support for your work.
Four strategies for identifying and assessing news and information needs during the COVID-19 pandemic
By Joseph Lichterman | The Lenfest Institute
This is new for all of us. Never before in our lifetimes have we had to deal with a mass pandemic, large-scale quarantines, or economic disruptions at this scale.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, news organizations have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to provide their communities with indispensable news and information using engagement strategies to connect with audiences in a meaningful way.
On Monday, The Community Listening and Engagement Fund
awarded grants
to 20 newsrooms to support their coverage of the coronavirus. We received 60 applications, and the most common requests for assistance focused on identifying news and information needs and covering underserved audiences.
Factually: Seven angles on a conspiracy theory
By Susan Benkelman and Harrison Manta | American Press Institute
How do you cover a conspiracy theory? Journalists who write about misinformation know that the trick is to debunk the falsehoods without amplifying them or generating any suggestion of legitimacy. Context is critical, as is an exploration of potential harms for believers.
The pseudoscience-ridden, conspiracy-driven “Plandemic” video, which contains a number of baseless theories about the COVID-19 pandemic, provides a case study in the number of ways journalists can approach such a story. Since the video first appeared early last week, the myriad angles journalists have used to cover it show that a good debunking can be embedded in any number of story genres.
