Perhaps you’ve seen the sticker on a gas pump. Or maybe you saw a photograph on social media. The sticker is a cartoon of President Joe Biden with the words “I did that!” It is positioned so he is pointing at the gas price. Biden is not responsible for rising consumer gas prices, but the theory is nonetheless being widely shared in conversation and on social media, … [Read more...] about Local media need to fact-check gas stories that are full of hot air
It’s getting hard and harder to find a newspaper for sale
Late last month, my son and I were photographed outside of Columbia College Chicago for a story about my employer’s new policy limiting children on campus. The Chicago Tribune photographer captured him in a wrap on my back, his blue Vans untied and a floral mask covering his face. It was my baby’s first newspaper photo. I’m just old school enough that after I … [Read more...] about It’s getting hard and harder to find a newspaper for sale
Former war reporter steps back into familiar role in helping Afghans evacuate
I was still a relatively young reporter in The Washington Post newsroom when the US launched its longest war in history following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I came of age as a journalist in the 20 years that followed, becoming part of a generation of reporters who ended up on a battlefield, first in Afghanistan and later in Iraq. Even as I turned my reporting attention … [Read more...] about Former war reporter steps back into familiar role in helping Afghans evacuate
Local media have role in fighting vaccine hesitancy, misinformation
A few days ago I shared an op-ed on my personal Facebook page by a doctor in Los Angeles who wrote that she was running out of compassion for the people unwilling to get the COVID vaccine. “Last year, a case like this would have flattened me,” the doctor wrote of a man who had refused to be vaccinated and was now dying. “I would have wrestled with the sadness and how … [Read more...] about Local media have role in fighting vaccine hesitancy, misinformation
Working moms push for flexibility to remain as newsrooms open again
Like many journalists in the early months of the pandemic, Susie An was mostly working from home. Draped in a blanket, her radio equipment propped on a big box of diapers, the education reporter at WBEZ in Chicago voiced her news stories and features from a closet. With schools and daycares closed, her days were hectic working from home with her sons, ages 7 and 3. “My children … [Read more...] about Working moms push for flexibility to remain as newsrooms open again