News and information to help journalists serve the public and stay safe.
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Many journalists are covering a physical and mental health crisis while they also may be struggling to cope themselves. This conversation will examine how to work through this moment, by looking at the stories we’re telling ourselves about it, how these stories affect our emotional lives, and consequently, the stories we are reporting and writing.
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Journalists are busier than ever, with
less time and attention to give
. But leaders can create more of that scarce resource for their teams. Release reporters and editors from the relentless news cycle so they can refresh, recharge, renew their passion for the work. Give them opportunities to learn and then to share, so that everyone is reminded why they do what they do - together.
Advice from
Jill Geisler
, Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity, Loyola University Chicago, Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership
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The National Press Club Journalism Institute is spotlighting
the next generation of journalists
, students graduating from college or Master’s programs this spring into
a challenging job market
, in hopes they’ll meet future bosses and colleagues here who will reach out and support them in building journalism’s future together.
School
:
Arizona State University
Location
:
Tempe, AZ
Internship
: The Arizona Republic
What have you learned from your internship experience(s)?
Kleifield
: In my internship with The Arizona Republic, I've learned the significance of building relationships with sources, specifically with people that I regularly interact with on my beat. Originally, I was assigned to cover Phoenix Rising Football Club's 2020 campaign. But, after COVID-19 shut down the sports world, I no longer had access to training sessions or games. Fortunately, I took the initiative to form a connection with Rising's media relations contact during the preseason. Now, I'm able to write feature stories each week because he is willing to set me up with remote interviews with players and coaches whenever I ask, all in part because he trusts me.
What's been your best moment in journalism?
Kleifield
: So far, my favorite moment in journalism has to be traveling to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in fall 2018 to cover the
Arizona Wildcats football game
against the UCLA Bruins. Myself and two other Daily Wildcat reporters filed our stories from the media room just yards away from the field around 1:30 a.m. We were the last media members on site and were able to soak up the environment until the wee hours of the morning. I still can't imagine a football setting more beautiful than "The Granddaddy of them all."
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Creativity is a process. Maintaining a creative habit can be tough.
The following exercises can help you think visually and break through ruts.
Word association games
When you get stuck breaking down a big concept for illustrations or photos — visualizing “community,” for example — try a word association game. Set a timer two minutes. In either a notes file or notepad, write as many words as you can think of associated with that concept. It doesn’t matter what words they are, or their order or whether you think they’re good. Simply make the list until the timer goes off. Don’t stop listing — if you think you’re done, you’re not … until the timer finishes.
You’ll end up with many ideas — think of them as angles — related to this word/concept. You can start to group them by theme; for example, inspired by “community” you may have words like neighborhood, church, people. Use these themes to think about the associated imagery: What are some photos or images that relate to some of these words?
Then, think about the purpose and functionality of what you are designing:
- Does the tone match your topic/angle?
- Does this type of image stereotype a group of people?
- Can this type of image resize easily to the various platforms you may use for distribution?
- Is such an image available? This is when you’d check stock images for availability and begin to edit using your tool of choice.
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Self-care is not a one-size-fits-all concept. Sometimes it can involve taking a walk outside. Other days it can include a nap. Lawyer and entrepreneur
Meena Harris
describes self-care as action in an
interview with Glamour magazine.
This is an excerpt:
"
Glamour’s Macaela MacKenzie
:
We tend to think of self-care as yoga or meditation or some kind of “break.” But I think it can also be about what makes you feel like you can go to bed at night and actually rest based on how you spent your day. How do you think about that?
"
Meena Harris
: I will rest when I'm able to. I’m going to wake up and be 50 and be like, Oh my God, you still haven't taken that really good vacation. But the nature of this work is that it is nonstop. It’s easy to be like alright, I got to get to Friday. And then it's like we're turning to the next thing, so Okay, I got to get to the end of August. And then you're like, Okay, now I just have to get to the end of the election. And then before you know it, it's been 10 years. So I try to remind myself to not let that happen because I've seen it happen. We've been going, going, going.
"I guess maybe my method is to take self-care where you can—even if it is something sort of small and it's not a whole routine. It’s this idea of resetting, shutting down, stepping away. I think that it's about keeping the perspective that you're doing this for the long game. So therefore when you feel like you're about to go off the cliff and are totally burned out, take a day, or a nap, or step away from your computer. There are so many times when supportive friends are like, “Just get the f--k off Twitter right now.” Taking a beat is pretty restorative."
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This newsletter is written & edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff: Beth Francesco, Holly Butcher Grant, Jim Kuhnhenn, and Julie Moos.
Send us your questions and suggestions
for topics to cover.
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