On July 3, 1981, The New York Times reported on a “rare gay cancer” that had been seen in 41 men. Although no one realized it at the time, the article by reporter and medical doctor Lawrence K. Altman was the first major news story on what would become the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It took another year … Read More... about How coverage of the coronavirus pandemic compares with the AIDS pandemic
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Midwest News
New York Times photo essay that mirrors Black photographer’s project in Chicago prompts apology
Within an hour on the morning of Sept. 5, Chicago photographer Tonika Johnson had received a tag on Instagram, a tweet, a Facebook message and text from friends notifying her about the “The Great Divide” a photographic story by the New York Times that highlights the overt disparities in quality of life for residents in […]
Local governments use pandemic to try to stall FOIA requests
FOIA advocates in Illinois successfully fought off attempts by local governments to slow access to public information in the early stages of the pandemic. But many journalists are still warily watching how the local leaders conduct business in the “new normal” of virtual meetings and limited or reduced access to government offices. “You have to […]
Opinion
Community journalists should serve as fact-checkers on national stories
A few weeks ago a former elementary school classmate of mine shared a viral post on Facebook about how Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was going to raise taxes for middle income families by 25 percent. I did a quick Google search and found that the post had been fact-checked already by reputable news outlets […]
