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Useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism 04422c6b-7998-44f8-b7bb-e4aa0a7f23a5.png

Need to Know

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism


OFF THE TOP

You might have heard . . .
Media coverage in Ukraine is as critical as ever (Poynter)

. . . but did you know:
Americans grow numb as war in Ukraine drags on past 1-year mark (Axios)
 
One year into the war in Ukraine, American interest in the conflict has flatlined. Last spring, Americans were consumed by the sudden invasion and its horrific consequences, but recent major shifts in the war have not captured attention in the same way. Readership of articles related to the conflict is down sharply since September, as are social media interactions with articles about the war. Sara Fischer, Tory Lysik and Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath write that television networks “have remained committed to covering the war, but they’ve run into viewer fatigue.” 
 
+ Noted: Politico ‘nearly doubles’ size of London bureau in a month with plans to triple it (Press Gazette)
API UPDATE

Trust Tip: Use these resources to make careful language decisions (then tell your audience) (Trusting News) 
 
As journalists, our words matter a lot. Ideally, they convey information in ways that feel clear, accessible and inclusive. But sometimes they unintentionally send signals to people about the meaning and value behind our coverage. There are so many phrases, words and framings we might not be aware of that are causing our work to come off with a specific tone or may unintentionally convey a viewpoint or exclude parts of our audience. By being more cautious with language choices, journalists can avoid this and instead, can help ensure their coverage feels accessible, inclusive and empathetic.   
 
+ API’s Shay Totten is guest facilitating a training on Google Analytics 4 with the News Product Alliance on Friday at 11 a.m. Join the NPA Slack community to register.
TRY THIS AT HOME

Journalists must understand the power of community engagement to earn trust (Poynter) 
 
Trust in journalism is at an all time low, and Kelly Chan writes that in communities of color, a lack of trust is based on historic failures to accurately cover these populations. In order to build back that trust, newsrooms must listen to members of different communities, be present in the everyday lives of their readers, offer transparency into how they do their work, and reflect on their past coverage to understand how they are being perceived by their audience. 
OFFSHORE

On buses and balconies, Venezuela’s citizen reporters take news to the people (The Washington Post) 
 
In Venezuela, a country with little independent media, veteran journalists have developed El Bus TV, an in-person news “program” that involves reading the news in person to passengers on buses in seven cities. Now, journalists like Darío Chacón have expanded the practice into stationary programs, with interactive news presentations at bus stops and coffee shops. Funding for these programs has largely come from out of the country, including the U.S., which officially views Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro as an adversary. 
OFFBEAT

Diversity roles disappear 3 years after George Floyd’s murder inspired them (NBC News)
 
Three years after George Floyd’s death led to an expansion of diversity, equity and inclusion roles, surveys indicate that those roles are being phased out. Many DEI leaders are losing their jobs in layoffs; the attrition rate for DEI roles was 33% in 2022, compared to 21% for non-DEI roles. The vast majority (76%) of chief diversity officers are white, while 8% are Hispanic, 8% are Asian and 4% are Black. For many, this indicates that corporate efforts towards diversity were disingenuous, or that diversity officers were “set up to fail” by leadership. 
 
+ Related: Jonathan Capehart quits WaPo editorial board, leaving no people of color (Axios) 
SHAREABLE

Murdoch acknowledges Fox News hosts endorsed election fraud falsehoods (The New York Times) 
 
In court documents released Monday in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox News, Rupert Murdoch acknowledged that some of the network’s hosts had promoted former President Trump’s false accusations that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. But he rejected that the network as a whole endorsed the election fraud claims. Murdoch also acknowledged that he never believed Trump’s claims about the election, and that he could have forced Fox News’ hosts to stop featuring election deniers but did not. Fox News’ lawyers argue that the network merely covered — rather than endorsed — the election lies. 
 
+ Related: The other way Rupert Murdoch tried to tip the scales for Trump (The Washington Post) 
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