Reporting
Newsroom Notes: 4 questions for your newsroom when a giant national story unfolds
KOMU 8 in Columbia, Missouri, is the nation’s only teaching laboratory inside a commercial network-affiliated TV station. The challenges are no different from other newsrooms—just layered on top of the challenges facing the next generation of journalists. We’re providing a first-hand view (and maybe a little advice) from an industry veteran who agreed to lead … Continued
Measuring progress on inclusivity
Tracking who actually shows up in the reporting is vital to the source diversity equation in journalism.Long before Linda Miller became an inclusive media consultant for RJI, she spent a decade creating the Public Insight Network for American Public Media, a platform of thousands of people who agreed to be sources for journalists and newsrooms. … Continued
New FAA rule is a huge boost for night news gathering by drone
Bundled with the FAA’s announcement Monday of the long-awaited rules on requiring remote ID from drones were two rule changes that will ease drone newsgathering for news organizations. Clearly the bigger of these was a drastic change in the way pilots will receive approval to fly at night. Under current rules, drone flights at night … Continued
Narrated articles: Q&A with Allyson Daniels
This month for Innovation in Focus, I interviewed Allyson Daniels to learn more about how we can increase accessibility in journalism. Daniels is a quality editor for the Bleacher Report. Swanson: Could you give a brief summary of the work you do? Daniels: I’m a quality editor for digital sports media network Bleacher Report, meaning … Continued
Journalism outlets need new social media policies
What should they look like? The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Reynolds Journalism Institute or the University of Missouri. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalist Alexis Johnson was barred from protest coverage after joking about a Kenny Chesney concert on Twitter. She tweeted: “Horrifying … Continued
The insults “stupid, fat, ugly” are just another day at work
The insults that hurt the most are those that imply that Latina journalists don’t belong in the news space “I have got accustomed that they call me ugly, fat, whore, stupid Puerto Rican, the N word. I’m used to the threats that they will rape me or beat me,”says Helen Ubiñas, a Boricua born in … Continued
Narrated article: Winter tips to stay safe and warm
This month for Innovation in Focus we tested various tools and platforms to provide narration for articles to make them more accessible. Listen to this article narrated: https://soundcloud.com/pili-swanson/narrated-article Here are some tips to staying healthy, safe and warm this winter season as the temperatures begin to drop. The CDC has COVID-19 tips for holiday gatherings, … Continued
Instagram Reels: Q&A with Anthony Quintano
For Innovation in Focus this month I experimented with Instagram Reels and spoke with social media manager Anthony Quintano about Instagram Reels and how it compares to TikTok so far. He is currently a manager of visual storytelling and has trained journalists on how to use social media since 2010 at NBC, Recode and Honolulu Civil Beat. … Continued
How to find diverse sources
A lot of the work has already been done The evidence is overwhelming that lack of diversity and inclusion in journalism not only perpetuates stereotypes and media distrust, but also limits which stories get told, how they are told, and whose voices are heard. Based on the pre-training survey responses, many reporters believe including diverse … Continued
From the frontlines: Latino journalists describe discrimination
In our investigative project we have already mentioned salary disparities as the main factor of discrimination, and our final product will focus on a tool kit for young Latina journalists to use as they face their first employment interviews. While we are working on this, we will also bring to light several testimonies we have … Continued