This profile originally appeared in The Cohort, Poynter’s bi-monthly newsletter about women kicking ass in digital media. It’s no secret that journalism is moving at a faster pace. And that’s especially so for those covering breaking news. They’re having to work quicker and quicker to get content up online, on social media, produce video, and often have to talk to people on one of the most difficult […]
Every editor must learn to fix stories, but fixing is not the same as coaching. Coaching is the human side of editing. In other words, the editor coaches the writer — but fixes the story. Before an editor can successfully coach a reporter, you need to know who he or she is. A simple “getting to know you” interview with a reporter can reveal a lot of […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. There is dumb provocative, which we can associate with talk radio and President Trump’s tweets, and there is smart provocative. Nieman Lab offers the latter as it wonders if the media and American banking are soulmates when it comes to […]
The basic format of political fact-checking is identical the world over: Start from a widely circulated claim by a public figure, then rate the truthfulness of its objectively verifiable components. Tom Rosenstiel, executive director at the American Press Institute, thinks it may be time to rethink this model. Local newsrooms especially, he suggests, should make “the key unit of fact-checking not a claim or a fact, but […]
Facebook and other platform companies publishing news are forces for bad journalism not good, despite some well-intended efforts lately to help media companies. That’s the conclusion of a massive, 25,000-word report, “The Platform Press,” published Wednesday by Emily Bell of the Columbia School of Journalism’s Tow Center and co-author Taylor Owen. The rapid shift to news reading directly on platforms is as big a transformation as digital […]
President Trump has repeatedly threatened to change U.S. libel law to crack down on news organizations that publish information he finds objectionable. But could he actually make good on his threat? Several First Amendment experts reached by Poynter say President Trump couldn’t amend libel law simply because there is no federal statute governing libel. Further, any changes to existing libel laws would likely not favor President Trump, […]
“Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground,” said Teddy Roosevelt. If the Washington Post is to be believed, Rex Tillerson believes you should keep your eyes on the stars. Or the nearest water fountain. Or a family photo on your desk. Maybe just on your iPhone, a passing squad car, anything but him. In a less than solicitous profile, The Washington Post […]
The Portland (Maine) Press Herald is not the first local news organization to do a big project on the heroin epidemic. Last year, the Palm Beach Post documented more than 200 deaths in 2015. The Cincinnati Enquirer has a reporter dedicated to covering the heroin epidemic. And students at Arizona State University did their own investigation. “We definitely are aware of what our peers are doing,” said […]
BuzzFeed is closing its in-house, open-source innovation lab in October after two years of experimentation at the crossroads of technology and media. BuzzFeed’s Open Lab for Journalism, Technology, and the Arts, which is housed at BuzzFeed’s San Francisco bureau, will wind down in October after the current fellowship class finishes its work, BuzzFeed San Francisco Bureau Chief Mat Honan wrote in a note to employees obtained by […]
On April 2 — not coincidentally the day after April Fool’s Day — we’ll celebrate the inaugural International Fact-Checking Day. The initiative is a collaboration by fact-checkers and journalism organizations from around the world, with a goal to enlist the public in the fight against misinformation in all its forms. On the website of the initiative, you will find: A lesson plan on the basics of fact-checking […]
The best reporters learn how the world works, whether it’s the world of law enforcement, the laboratory, the zoning commission, the city council or the corporate boardroom. One of the best ways to provide excellent coverage is to focus your efforts. Here’s a checklist to help you think critically about how your spend your time: Enterprise Story Ideas: What are some investigative opportunities? What are some feature […]
The sleep revolution is not going to stop at the U.S. border. Now a few months out from its November debut, Arianna Huffington’s wellness startup, Thrive Global, is hiring additional journalists and preparing to expand to Italy, India and Eastern Europe. The expansions, joint ventures with Gruppo Espresso, The Times of India and The Antenna Group, respectively, fit into a strategy to “chronicle the culture shift around […]
There’s a notorious American tradition of politicians lambasting — and even threatening to sue — news organizations that publish unflattering or potentially libelous stories. But what would happen if a news organization unfairly branded as “fake news” fought back? Jay Seaton might soon find out. Seaton, the publisher of the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel in Colorado, made headlines in February when he threatened to sue Ray Scott, a Republican […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. Donald Trump is temporary ratings gold, which is either evidence of renewed civic engagement or merely the decline of Western civilization. Variety reports that Fox News “finished far and above its competition in the ratings for the first quarter of […]
This originally ran in our weekly newsletter Local Edition. You can join the conversation here. A few months ago, my son, Max, got me thinking about adaptation. “Everything is different!” the 9-year-old blustered from the back seat after his Kindle finished updating. “I can’t find anything now!” “That stinks,” I told him. But it’s also good practice, I said, for a skill that younger people figure out […]
When was the first time you smoked weed? For those who’ve never indulged (or perhaps never inhaled), the question might seem too personal for an interview. But, for the millions of Americans who smoke marijuana, it could be an entrée to a host of interesting questions: Where are you from? Who’d you hang out with when you were in high school? What was your relationship with your […]
Writers see the world as a storehouse of story ideas. But not every idea is worth a story. Good writers sift the ideas, rejecting some (or most) and selecting the few that have potential. Here are some ways to sort through your ideas. Raise the bar. Be ruthless about whether this is a fresh idea or something you’ve seen so many times that it has become a […]
Since its founding in 1857, The Atlantic has been a fundamentally American magazine. It was launched by leading lights of American literature: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Nathaniel Hawthorne reported for the magazine from Civil War battlefields. President Abraham Lincoln once said that a favorable article in the magazine could save him seven or eight battles in the Civil War. But soon, […]
Democracy Fund and First Look Media on Monday announced $9 million in funding to bolster an independent free press split evenly between three newsrooms: ProPublica, the Center for Public Integrity and the Center for Investigative Reporting. Democracy Fund and First Look Media are also committing an additional $3 million to support independent in vigorous journalism. It includes: The Knight Prototype Fund aimed at combating misinformation will receive […]
The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com have a new editor, the latest step in an ongoing reorganization of their parent company. Gabriel Escobar will be editor and vice president of Philadelphia Media Network, a new job that puts him in charge of news for the Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com, the company announced Monday. Escobar, who was previously managing editor for news at the […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. So when President Trump raised the white flag on Obamacare Friday, did he pick up the phone and gave the exclusive to Breitbart, The Daily Caller or LifeZette? Nope. He called reporters at The Washington Post and The New York […]
During the past few weeks, I’ve talked with my colleague Ren LaForme about two video tools: one for making videos interactive and one for shooting with your phone. We’re going to stay with easy things you can do yourself with video for a bit longer. What’s our tool this week? The first week we talked about this really cool tool to take video out of the standard […]
Late last summer, Kelley Calkins and her team began discussions with Medium to take their burgeoning company in a new direction. The Establishment, a scrappy, four-person outlet funded and run by women, was considering moving its site to Medium. Taking the plunge would mean free hosting, access to the company’s minimalist content management system and a variety of business opportunities. And more money. The Establishment, like other […]
Add Samantha Bee to the list of media thinkers with a scheme to make money in local journalism. On this week’s episode of “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” the “Daily Show” alumna became the latest late-night comedian to give journalism a boost. But, rather than put out a call for donations like her colleague John Oliver, Bee opted for a different strategy: lottery tickets. During the segment, […]
