Ethics AdviceLine

A thriving weekly newspaper: Revenue tripled in three years at the Malheur Enterprise, with in-depth local reporting and an ad salesperson. Tom Goldman describes the turnaround and the prize-winning journalism. There’s an appetite for good reporting, Goldman writes, and the paper’s editor and publisher “has earned his readers’ trust with […]

A future technology guide: Farhad Manjoo offers three maxims for surviving the next era of technology. Look at who’s making a product, choose the indie brand and don’t jump on the newest thing. “Go slow.”   Visit the Ethics AdviceLine blog for more.

Denying coverage to Nazis: An Arkansas television station thinks about the news value in covering a Nazi rally, then decides to “give them silence,” writes Al Tompkins. News director learns the protestors are not local, protesting an issue of no local importance.   Visit the Ethics AdviceLine blog for […]

Burned out journalists: Journalists are wilting under information overload, writes John Crowley. Hacks smooth their workload, like inbox zero. “Management, either through wilful ignorance or a strong desire to react to the changing face of digital journalism, are simply asking journalists to stay connected far too much,” writes Crowley. […]

Journalism entry points disappear: Digital-media start-up Mic crashes and burns, writes Margaret Sullivan. “With the tragic demise of local newspapers, places like Mic have become the entry point into the craft for a lot of young journalists,” she writes. “As they go under, such entry points disappear.”   Visit […]

Tricks to retain subscribers: Use psychology and dump content readers don’t read, writes Laura Hazard Owen. Some tips: People like surprises, nudge them, build habits, pick an engagement metric and allocate resources for engagement.   Visit the Ethics AdviceLine blog for more.

Bilingual reporting and translation: President Trump’s zero tolerance policy on border immigration makes bilingual reporting important, writes Alice Driver. “Because language enables reporting — and comprehension of complex subjects in the news — it is essential for local and national media outlets to have bilingual journalists,” she writes. Visit […]

Covering wildfires: The devastating California fires change the landscape and journalism, writes Audrey Cooper. “There is a perception that journalists simply take from the victims,” she writes. “We do take their stories, their photos. We do these things not because we relish it but because the public must know. There […]

Lagging Freedom of Information Act: Passed in 1966, but “it’s more difficult than ever to pry loose documents about the federal government”, writes C.J. Ciaramella. Roughly 800,000 FOIA requests were made in 2017. A record number were denied or censored in the first year of the Trump administration. Ciaramella calls […]

BuzzFeed adopts rules for covering mass shootings: Don’t shy away from the story, but don’t glorify the assailant. Sydney Smith describes guidelines for language on mass shootings. All interviews should be considered on the record until a reporter agrees to go off the record or on background. Visit the […]