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Hello there,

Thanks for joining us for another week of Freeze Frame! Before we jump in, I want to quickly remind our readers of a new shared learning cohort Reframe will be hosting this winter and spring for newsrooms covering Indigenous communities. The cohort will gain support from each other, Reframe, and additional coaches, as well as receive $2,500 in funding. The application is open until November 15. Feel free to forward this email to anyone you think should know about this opportunity.

Talk soon,
Aubrey Nagle, Reframe editor

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Headline Check ✅

Here we analyze and reframe a news headline to demonstrate how this important real estate can be optimized for user experience.

This headline comes from KPIX, the CBS affiliate in the Bay Area, but it is far from the only time we’ve seen a story about homelessness center those who witness it rather than those who experience it. Framing a story in a way that positions threats to those in luxury condos as the primary impact of homelessness — rather than, say, the lack of safety and support felt by people who are actually experiencing homelessness — misses the point. If journalism seeks to help society deal with its collective problems, focusing on what support is needed by those without secure housing (and why they are not receiving it) is the right place to start.

For a recent example of what centering the narratives of those experiencing homelessness looks like, check out the San Francisco Chronicle’s “Homegrown and homeless in Oakland.” It privileges the stories of four local residents from a systemic, solutions-driven angle.

(I’ll also, as always, recommend Anita Varma’s research on covering homelessness in solidarity with those experiencing injustice.)

One Good Tweet 🐥

It’s just what it sounds like: a good Tweet that we think everyone should see!

Couldn’t help but include this light-hearted moment this week. Shout-out to all the pets still adjusting to their new schedules.

A Link to Make You Think 🤔

Our must-read of the week.

The Tourette’s community is livid over the ‘TikTok tics’ media frenzy

In October, the Wall Street Journal published a story called, “Teen Girls Are Developing Tics. Doctors Say TikTok Could Be a Factor.” The story itself got a lot of buzz and was picked up by other big outlets. But this Input Magazine report tells a different side of the story: that of the Tourette’s community and how they’re affected by sensationalist coverage. Understanding the impact of our reporting is a necessary skill for all journalists. Let this be a lesson learned.

Questions with Answers 📫

Each week we’ll seek to answer a question facing the news industry about language, style, or framing — including answering questions sent to our inbox! Need advice? Send a note to reframe@resolvephilly.org and your question could be featured in a future issue.

Question: We recently covered how to introduce pronouns in a news story (short version: just use them), but how should reporters ask sources for their pronouns in the first place?

Answer: It’s a great practice to ask the sources we interview for the pronouns they use so that we can refer to them correctly. But some of the people we talk to might be unfamiliar with the practice and might even be unsure what pronouns are. An easy way to work this into your interviews is as follows:

Just like I check the spelling of everyone’s names for my reporting, I also want to double-check what pronouns you use, like she/her, they/them, or he/him. That way, when I reference you in the story, I make sure to get it right. Could you confirm what pronouns you use?

This script a) introduces why you’re asking in the first place, b) links it to your mission to get things right, and c) provides options for anyone unfamiliar with the question. It’s also careful not to use the phrase “what pronouns do you prefer” or “identify with,” because framing respecting one’s identity as a preference we can choose to acknowledge or not is not much respect at all.