We’ve talked about this ad nauseam: How did our once-upon-a-time era of “Walter Cronkite credibility” give way to current polarization perpetuated by rancorous social media? And where is our government in overseeing mass and social media? Why isn’t it fixing this? What ever happened to the Fairness Doctrine? Couldn’t that be our guide in dealing with these platforms? … [Read more...] about Are investigative reporting and news literacy the new Fairness Doctrine?
reporting
Local news outlets should avoid false equivalency in reporting on Covid vaccine
A recent investigative report from NBC News highlighted the danger of our pursuit of false equivalency. As the Covid-19 vaccines have started to roll out across America, anti-vaxxers are increasingly getting the kind of mainstream news attention they’ve long sought from local news. Outlets reporting on the vaccine have described the anti-vaccination activists as … [Read more...] about Local news outlets should avoid false equivalency in reporting on Covid vaccine
Opinion: Dear MSM: Some tips for covering the Midwest during the 2020 elections (Hint: Flyover is an F-word)
We’re deep in the middle of the Iowa State Fair, the unofficial start of the next election cycle, and a time when all of us out here in the Midwest are preparing for our short time in the country’s limited attention span. Candidates descend and with them, reporters who are tasked with getting the heartbeat of the “heartland,” one of the many clichés that have been used over … [Read more...] about Opinion: Dear MSM: Some tips for covering the Midwest during the 2020 elections (Hint: Flyover is an F-word)
Mental hazards of reporting not just a danger for war correspondents
After covering shootings several days in a row, Chicago freelancer Evan Moore had to report from a press conference that featured mothers of gun violence victims. It was almost Memorial Day in 2016, and the mothers, now anti-violence advocates, were urging people to stop the violence ahead of what historically has been a very violent weekend in Chicago, a sort of kickoff to the … [Read more...] about Mental hazards of reporting not just a danger for war correspondents