June 29, 2022

Top stories

■ Over 360 newspapers have closed since just before the start of the pandemic (New York Times) / Every week, two more newspapers close — and 'news deserts' grow larger (Washington Post) / 'The largest 10 newspaper chains have been responsible for 1 in 3 of the closures and mergers over the past three years, and more than half of the closures since 2005. Many are controlled by private equity and just squeezing diminishing assets.' (Sewell Chan) 


■ 'Personal news, as they say. I was laid off by Patch today with 18 other hardworking journalists, photo and copy editors. The news was extremely sudden and, honestly, heartbreaking.' (Anna Quinn) / Substack lays off 13 employees, roughly 14% of company (Axios) 


■ 'Punchbowl is avowedly agnostic with respect to partisanship, but devoutly observant of politics. [Jake] Sherman and [Anna] Palmer rise every morning in time to record a podcast at 5am, put out their first newsletter of the day sometime after 6am, follow that up with midday and evening editions for “premium” (paying) subscribers, and, on days when Congress has important votes or Punchbowl is hosting an event, work late into the night. In between, Sherman, Palmer, and the rest of the Punchbowl staff—there are now five reporters—are constantly on social media, selling their product and blasting out scooplets that are “not going to hold.” ' (Columbia Journalism Review) 


■ Ratings show Fox News viewers tuning out Jan. 6 hearings (AP) 


■ As trans issues take center stage in media, trans journalists fight for more than just visibility (Mediaite) 


■ Video games are popular as ever. Why aren't more Black writers hired to cover them? (Poynter) 


■ Can adjusting font styles really help us read faster? (Quartz)


Press freedom 


■ Slain journalist’s brother seeks U.S. help holding Israel to account (Washington Post) 


■ Journalist killed in latest attack on Mexico media workers (Reuters) 


■ Nobel laureate Ressa vows to fight order to shut Philippine news site (Reuters via Yahoo) / 'Thank you for your messages of solidarity. We in Rappler are business as usual. We have jobs to do, a new presidency to cover starting tomorrow, and we intend to #CourageOn.' (Lian Buan) / Nobelist Maria Ressa says social media is corroding democracy in the U.S. (Axios)

‘Religion is always in the room’: How to improve coverage of faith

Religion is a dominant force in American life. 


More than 75 percent of Americans said they identified with a specific religious faith, according to Gallup polling conducted in 2021. Yet the field of journalism is notoriously secular and largely averse to including religious angles and storylines.   


If news organizations want to earn the trust of people of faith, news coverage needs to reflect the broad range of religious traditions of the communities they serve, experts said during a June 24 National Press Club Journalism Institute panel on covering faith.  


“Religion is always in the room,” said Holly Meyer, religion news editor at the Associated Press. “Religion makes people uncomfortable — including journalists. And so what we need to do is when religion comes up in the room, whatever room that is, don't ignore it. Don't look away, as that's an opportunity for follow-up questions.” 


Seven journalists, including Meyer, shared tips for earning trust and telling nuanced stories:


  • Dawn Araujo-Hawkins, news editor at Christian Century; vice president at Religion News Association
  • Alison Bethel, vice president of corps excellence at Report for America
  • Sarah Breger, editor at Moment Magazine
  • McKay Coppins, staff writer at The Atlantic
  • Richard Flory, executive director at USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture
  • Aysha Khan, editor at Next City, freelance journalist, and Harvard Divinity School graduate
  • Holly Meyer, religion news editor at the Associated Press

 

Building trust among sources, audiences, and colleagues


There is no shortcut: Earning trust takes time, patience, and consistency. For some community members, there might even be an expectation that news media will get their perspective wrong. 


“Religion is held so tightly to people that I think there's often a lot of fear, and I'm thinking primarily amongst sources, that you are not going to tell their stories accurately,” Araujo-Hawkins said.


Breaking through this barrier starts with a mutual understanding. 


Araujo-Hawkins suggests walking potential sources through your journalistic process, from what to expect in an interview to how you will verify quotes and accuracy prior to publication.


There’s also no shortcut for describing certain faith practices or faith identities.


“None of these people correspond to the very easy shortcuts that we attempt to take as journalists by describing people as conservative Christian, or devout Muslim, or Evangelical, or liberal,” Khan said. “We use these labels, we use these shortcuts, and attempt to describe our sources, our interviewees — entire communities of millions of people — in this way, as if our readers are supposed to know what that means.”


Bethel provided an example of how such a shortcut has gone wrong: 


“Newsrooms, reporters have taken the word Evangelical and used it in such a way that the general public would think that Evangelicals are white men or women in the Midwest who are racist … instead of looking at what the word really means and what being an Evangelical means.”  


The minutia matters: All religions are complex. Take time to learn the details and nuances behind what you’re covering.


“If we want to be taking lived religion and people's lived religious experiences seriously, we have to [understand] that vast diversity within religious traditions,” Khan said. “None of these are monoliths.” 


Spending time with religion experts will build a foundation of knowledge. Meyer recommends reaching out to the Religion News Association to find resources and experts.   


But, Breger adds, don’t rely on the same sources each time.


“For readers … when they see their religion or their denomination basically being expressed through, or filtered through, one or two people — often maybe the loudest or the squeakiest wheels,” she said. “It really erodes trust.”


Religious diversity is an important part of representation in the newsroom: Journalists of faith can add valuable perspective to stories outside of their belief system. 


“​​I think that we have to look inward first to get it right so that we can have people, have readers trust us with getting it right and not twisting or mocking their belief,” Bethel said.


Coppins said he advocates for more people with any kind of religious experience being in newsrooms. 


“I think it benefits all religious people and all faith traditions,” Coppins said. “What I found is that people who have had any kind of lived experience in religion — regardless of what their tradition was — have generally approached Mormonism, which is the faith tradition I know best, with more care and nuance than other reporters.”


Read on to learn more about telling impactful, inclusive religion stories, and watch the conversation here:

Faith in Journalism: How news organizations can build trust with religious Americans

3 tips to be a more accessible leader

In well-managed organizations, the staff feels connected to each other and to those who supervise them. They feel they can approach managers with ideas or concerns. They get regular feedback on their work. Decisions from the top down aren’t constant and mysterious. People have a voice, if not always a vote. And when they don’t get a vote, there’s at least transparency about the process.


In order for those good things to happen, managers need to be accessible. It’s not enough to say you have an “open door policy” unless your actions match your advertising. When you feel swamped with meetings or slammed with paperwork, it’s easy to send off a “do not disturb” vibe. Do that with some regularity and people will hesitate to approach you.


So, how do you stay accessible while still tending to your full array of duties? Here are three tips:


  1. Revisit that full array of duties. Are there any you’ve been holding on to because you enjoy them, think others wouldn’t like them or couldn’t do them as well as you? Is it time to delegate some tasks so you can free up time for talks with your team members?
  2. Leave a bit of breathing space between meetings. There may be someone in your meeting that would benefit from a private word with you after the gathering. It can’t happen if you’re dashing away for your next engagement. 
  3. Get disciplined about planning. When you have a handle on your day, your week, and your To-Do list, you can build in time for coaching and career conversations, feedback sessions, and just shooting the breeze. Planning can actually make you capable of more serendipitous connections, because you’re not worried about what you’re missing. You know how much time you have to spare.


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


Get more career advice: Read Jill's columns | Watch Manager's Minute videos

Political protests and civil unrest are expected across America this summer and fall. The combination of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, ongoing right-wing conspiracies about the validity of U.S. elections, and the prospect of domestic terrorist attacks have produced a climate that forebodes tense confrontations between protesters, counter-protesters, and the police.


Journalists are already in the mix covering these clashes, sometimes being mistreated, physically harmed, or even targeted in the process. In the days following the Roe v. Wade ruling, journalists covering protests have already been shoved and clubbed by Los Angeles police


Are you familiar with your rights as a journalist to cover political protests and police responses to them? Do you have a plan on what to do if those rights are challenged — or ignored — by police or protesters? What steps are you taking to keep yourself and your equipment safe and secure, physically and legally?


Registration is open for a National Press Club Journalism Institute virtual safety training at 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday, July 15, on how to cover political protests and civil unrest while limiting your legal exposure and physical safety risks. Attendees will learn:


  • Your rights to photograph and record video in public spaces and what to do if you are confronted and your equipment is seized
  • How to recognize the signs of a police kettling action that could lead to being swept up and detained with other protesters
  • What safety equipment to bring and how to plan your protest route ahead of time
  • Ways to strategize your communication plan with editors, a legal team, and loved ones
  • Recent legal developments and court cases for journalists detained and charged for their coverage of the 2020 racial justice protests and implications going forward


Confirmed speakers include:


  • Corinne Chin, Emmy-award winning video journalist, and Associated Press director of news talent
  • Kamesha Laurry, Borealis Racial Equity in Journalism Fund Legal Fellow for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
  • Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association


The conversation will be moderated by Rachel Oswald, National Press Club press freedom team lead and a foreign policy reporter for CQ Roll Call.

Resources

This newsletter is written & edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff: Beth Francesco, Holly Butcher Grant, and Julie Moos. Send us your questions and suggestions for topics to cover.

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The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest.