Daily Journalism Affirmations

Doing great journalism is hard, but necessary. Here are some stories, quotes or other great tidbits to help you keep fighting the good fight. Maintained by Linda Shapley, Managing Editor of The Denver Post

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Where, once again, a news org explains how editorial and news departments don't work together.

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Don’t Stop the Presses! When Local News Struggles, Democracy Withers

The sad story of the East Bay Times exemplifies how the decline of community journalism erodes civic engagement.

Truer words have never been written.

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CNN's "Facts First" campaign video.

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Required reading for News Literacy 101

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As Americans prepare to celebrate the country’s 241st birthday, they believe the overall tone and level of civility between Democrats and Republicans in the nation’s capital has gotten worse since the election of President Trump last year, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds. The same survey also shows distrust of many of the nation’s fundamental democratic institutions amongst the public.

Seven in 10 Americans say the level of civility in Washington has gotten worse since President Trump was elected, while just 6 percent say the overall tone has improved. Twenty percent say it’s stayed the same. For comparison, 35 percent in 2009 said civility in the country had declined in the U.S. following President Obama’s election, per a Gallup survey. Eight years ago, 21 percent of Americans in that poll thought civility and the tone of discourse in the country had improved.

There’s also little difference in Americans’ views on civility and the level of discourse across partisan lines. Just over eight in 10 Democrats say it’s gotten worse since Trump was elected, while 70 percent of independents say the same thing. Sixty-five percent of Republicans say civility between the GOP and Democrats has declined since November, with just 12 percent saying it has improved.

“Searching for consensus in Washington?” asks Lee Miringoff, director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “There’s strong consensus across the board that civility in Washington is on the outs.”

And few people have a high level of trust in many of the institutions that are the backbone of American democracy. Only intelligence and law enforcement agencies like the CIA and the FBI engender much goodwill, with 60 percent saying they have some degree of trust in them.

Americans Say Civility Has Worsened Under Trump; Trust In Institutions Down

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Today in “news that’s not really news” ...

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From civil to cesspool: Local news battles offensive comments

LAST WEEK, AS THE CHARLESTON POST & COURIER covered a hostage standoff and shooting at a local restaurant, editor Mitch Pugh announced his paper would shut down comments on the developing story. FYI: We are in the process of disabling comments on the breaking shooting story. Majority either violated TOS, off topic or repugnant. — Mitch […]

Denver Post Digital Director Becky Risch is quoted in this story and talk about how revolutionary it is to have a service that helps people be rational. What a concept, huh?

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Will it help news organizations? Jury is still out. Judging from the comments, I am skeptical.

[npr]

As Americans prepare to celebrate the country’s 241st birthday, they believe the overall tone and level of civility between Democrats and Republicans in the nation’s capital has gotten worse since the election of President Trump last year, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds. The same survey also shows distrust of many of the nation’s fundamental democratic institutions amongst the public.

Seven in 10 Americans say the level of civility in Washington has gotten worse since President Trump was elected, while just 6 percent say the overall tone has improved. Twenty percent say it’s stayed the same. For comparison, 35 percent in 2009 said civility in the country had declined in the U.S. following President Obama’s election, per a Gallup survey. Eight years ago, 21 percent of Americans in that poll thought civility and the tone of discourse in the country had improved.

There’s also little difference in Americans’ views on civility and the level of discourse across partisan lines. Just over eight in 10 Democrats say it’s gotten worse since Trump was elected, while 70 percent of independents say the same thing. Sixty-five percent of Republicans say civility between the GOP and Democrats has declined since November, with just 12 percent saying it has improved.

“Searching for consensus in Washington?” asks Lee Miringoff, director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “There’s strong consensus across the board that civility in Washington is on the outs.”

And few people have a high level of trust in many of the institutions that are the backbone of American democracy. Only intelligence and law enforcement agencies like the CIA and the FBI engender much goodwill, with 60 percent saying they have some degree of trust in them.

Americans Say Civility Has Worsened Under Trump; Trust In Institutions Down

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Think President Trump’s press-bashing doesn’t affect local journalists? Think again.

The latest edition of the Charlevoix Courier, a small weekly in Northern Michigan, is a potpourri of small-town Americana: the retirements of several local school employees, how a library official …

"I think it's easy to rip people when you've never met them, but our folks have met us, dealt with us, and understand what we're doing. And, for the most part, they appreciate our work. One challenge is to overcome the image of a news organization as a monolithic, impenetrable, uncontrollable force and demonstrate that we're neighbors, trying our hardest to deliver information local people need to have."

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A reporter explains why he confronted Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

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If you're going to make an omelet, the saying goes, you're going to have to break some eggs. Maybe the same is true for journalism.

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This is how great journalists get their start.

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No simpler way to say it.

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"Those who have worked inside newsrooms know that while there is often “group think” that needs to be challenged, most journalists are ethical, independent and are proud of working in an industry that helps strengthen American democracy."

As a trusted colleague has said, “We’re not at war, we’re at work.” 

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It is cheap, it is cowardly, and it is bad citizenship to simply shriek ‘fake news!’ every time reality forces a hard choice upon us.

Kevin D. Williamson, correspondent for the National Review Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/447693/fake-news-media-voters-shared-reality-must-be-acknowledged

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Newsonomics: Can a master blacklist choke off fake news’ money supply?

The Open Brand Safety framework is an attempt to create a master list of fake news sites so advertisers can learn to avoid them.

When Jeff Jarvis (who directs CUNY’s Tow-Knight Center and has been focused on the trust issue) how he expects to use the money, he ticked off more than a half dozen ideas — “new metrics of impact,” news literacy, better “public listening,” and the more abstract “How do we rethink the informed conversation?”

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An iconic duo speaks at the WHCD.