Welcome to “The Newsroom Digest,” a newsletter from the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University that tracks the latest developments in New Jersey local news.
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✔️ Here's our early lineup for the 2021 NJ Local News Summit; register today!
This fall the Center will kick off a series of events and engagement campaigns when we relaunch our flagship project, the NJ News Commons. (Much more to come there!)
We are proud to count YOU among our 300+ member news organizations and freelancers statewide, and we hope you will join us on Thursday, Nov. 18, from 12-5 p.m. ET for the 2021 NJ Local News Summit.
The 2021 NJ Local News Summit will include a half day of presentations, panel discussions and lightning talks. All the sessions will be presented virtually on Zoom webinar. Tickets are free and the event is open to the public. Please register to save your spot.
There are many groundbreaking local news initiatives currently underway across the Garden State, and the 2021 NJ Local News Summit will be an opportunity for us to share and learn about them. Don't miss inspiring presentations including News Commons friends and partners.
That lineup includes conversations about:
- The NJ Civic Information Consortium
- A new statewide coalition working on a common agenda for local news
- Unionization efforts in New Jersey newsrooms
- Information needs assessments conducted in Atlantic City, Camden and Newark
- The South Jersey Information Equity Project
- And more!
The Center is now accepting pitches from anyone who is interested in hosting or presenting a session at the Summit. Click here to fill out the pitch form and let us know what you’d like to talk about during your session.
We look forward to seeing you then—in the meantime, please look out for our upcoming NJ News Commons member survey. We want to hear from you about your new initiatives, challenges, and how the Center can help our local newsrooms continue to thrive.
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💉 Help for covering vaccine hesitancy
According to COVID-19 vaccine statistics data from the Centers for Disease Control and other health authorities, 6.3 million or 71 percent of New Jerseyans has been fully vaccinated. Nationwide, some 207 million people, or 75 percent of adults in the U.S., have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
NJ.com has reported stats reflecting vaccination hesitancy in some New Jersey counties, and the subsequent impact of COVID-19 cases. For example, in Morris County, where 65 percent of residents has been fully vaccinated, just 5.5 new COVID-19 cases occurred in a given study period. By contrast, Ocean County, where just 46 percent of residents are fully vaccinated, had double the rate of new cases.
"Seven of the 10 counties with the highest vaccination rates were also among the 10 with the fewest cases. On the flip side, seven of the 10 least vaccinated counties were also in the top 10 for cases."
Given all of this, The Journalist’s Resource shares “6 tips for covering COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.” Recommendations include finding why individuals and communities are vaccine hesitant, answering questions from the public with compassion, and addressing vaccine side effects.
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🙋🏾 Sources that reflect the communities we serve
A QUICK REMINDER: The Center for Cooperative Media and NJ Advance Media, which produces content for NJ.com, recently launched the Diverse Sources Database, which aims to help journalists in New Jersey diversify their sources to make news coverage more inclusive and reflective of the communities we serve.
If you have expertise on a topic of relevance to the Garden State or know someone who does, fill out this form to contribute to the list. If you’re a reporter or editor, you can search for experts by specialty or county and contribute your own sources to this collaborative project. Please check it out!
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📰 New venture capital funding for local news
The National Trust for Local News is trying to build a $300 million fund to help
save local news, Poynter.org reports. Instead of grants, the goal of the trust is to distribute venture capital to local news outlets, drawing from a pool of venture philanthropy funds, and the support of investors who can help develop business models in small towns declared as news deserts.
To date, Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro—currently a research fellow at Columbia’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism—has launched the Trust's first project in partnership with the Colorado Sun, to purchase and operate a group of 24 struggling websites and weeklies based near Denver. Shapiro hopes this initial test will provide a model and “create profit working with communities to save local news.”
If you're interested in exploring this, let us know and we are happy to put you in touch with the Trust. Email info@centerforcooperativemedia.org.
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FELLOWSHIP:
Do you have a vision for spreading solutions journalism to your community (and beyond)? Consider applying for a yearlong LEDE Fellowship from the Solutions Journalism Network. Applicants have the chance to join “a community of entrepreneurs shaping the news of tomorrow.” Selected fellows have access to a supportive community of solutions journalism entrepreneurs, and professional development services, and can receive up to $3,500 towards project development. For questions, contact Julia Holtz at juliah@solutionsjournalism.org.
NOW HIRING:
Multimedia Content Producer/Editor, Spotlight
An immediate opportunity is available for a Multimedia Content Producer/Editor to cover social justice issues in New Jersey, including immigration and criminal justice, and write articles and other content for NJ Spotlight News’ online platforms, as well as contribute to broadcast and other programming. Candidates should have a minimum of 5+ years’ experience producing multimedia content. Learn more information and apply here.
General Assignment Reporter, The Jersey Journal
The Jersey Journal seeks to fill an immediate opening for a general assignment reporter ready to handle a variety of breaking news and update stories about Hudson County. Preferred candidates have previous clips and two years of journalism experience, and can produce thoughtful original content that engages readers. Send a cover letter and at least six strong examples of your work published in the last two years to David Blomquist, Editor and Publisher, at dblomquist@jjournal.com. More info here.
Community Reporting Fellows, Stories of Atlantic City
Stories of Atlantic City (SOAC) seeks fellows for its first-ever Community Reporter Fellowship starting in October. The paid 7-month civic education and journalism skill-building program will train community members to report critical local information. If you're passionate about A.C., want to learn more about the inner workings of city government, and looking to build storytelling skills while helping to meet the information needs of this community, connect with the SOAC team here.
Project Coordinator, South Jersey Information Equity Project
The Center for Cooperative Media is expanding the South Jersey Information Equity Project thanks to funding from Independence Public Media Foundation. The Center seeks a part-time Project Coordinator who will lead the South Jersey Information Equity Project's efforts. We hope to kickstart this implementation phase in September, so we encourage candidates to review the posting and apply ASAP. Email Cassandra Etienne at etiennec@montclair.edu with questions.
Got an open job or other opportunity? Let us know and we'll feature it! Email info@centerforcooperativemedia.org
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📚 What we're reading
Education reporting that better reflects family experiences during the pandemic: This Neiman Reports article urges reporters and newsrooms to go beyond press briefings and school board meetings to reach and cover the experiences of students and families typically absent from these spaces.
Decolonizing the journalism internship process: Following the public scrutiny and deserved backlash in response to the Washington Post’s recent internship criteria tweet, this Poynter piece offers some takeaways from this teachable moment. By rejecting “colonist” standards, newsrooms that approach a more inclusive and empathetic hiring process. Newsrooms can start by considering different types of experiences, working with local colleges to find students from communities served, and valuing skills as much as experience.
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Feedback sought for NJ Civic Info Consortium
Starting TODAY 9/23 at 6 p.m. ET
The NJ Civic Information Consortium is seeking feedback on its first round of grants and soliciting ideas about how the substance and process should change, if at all. Each of the three sessions will focus on feedback from a different region of New Jersey:
● SOUTH JERSEY (9/23 at 6 pm)
● CENTRAL JERSEY (9/27 at 6 pm)
● NORTH JERSEY (9/29 at 6 pm)
Sign up here to select a date and attend. Questions? Contact the Consortium via email at info@njcivicinfo.org.
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Retention tune-up panel
Tuesday, Sept. 28, 3 p.m. ET
Learn strategies for engaging and retaining subscribers in this 1-hour discussion sponsored by the American Press Institute. Join Erik Zenhausern, Director of Acquisition and Retention at Newsday and Pat Leader, the Director of Audience and Consumer Revenue at the Spokesman-Review, in conversation with Gwen Vargo, API’s Director of Reader Revenue. Newsday will share how creating a new metric to measure what content subscribers read helped it understand subscribers’ interests. The Spokesman-Review will share how its recently revamped “welcome series” of messages increased new subscribers’ engagement with content.
Registration is free and open to anyone whose job entails attracting and retaining subscribers to a news publication. Register here.
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10 steps to more inclusive reporting
Thursday October 7 at 1p.m. ET
The Center of Cooperative Media at Montclair State University will host a virtual training for journalists and editors on finding and incorporating more diverse "real people" and experts in their reporting, along with tips on cultural competence overcoming objections.
This event is part of the NJ Diverse Sources Database initiative and will be presented by Melba Newsome of the Reynolds Journalism Institute. This is a 60-90 minute presentation with a 10-step guide on improving diversity in sources as well as exercises to help reporters and editors critique and improve their work. Register here.
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📭 Get in touch!
Thanks for checking out "The Newsroom Digest." We look forward to bringing you the next edition in two weeks. In the meantime, please reach out with any news items and developments at your publication, including accomplishments, staffing updates, and examples of community impact.
Let us know: info@centerforcooperativemedia.org
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