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

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

What’s next for Documented Semanal, a WhatsApp newsletter

When the pandemic began, we, like many other organizations, worked quickly to respond to all of the pressing needs of our readers. Tens of thousands of NeW Yorkers were suddenly left jobless and afraid of getting sick. We knew financial relief and organizations seeking to help were out there, but many residents did not know … Continued