Anyone who has spent some time in a newsroom has been part of a conversation about whether or not a sensitive image should be published.
The conversation no doubt came up this week with the publication of an image of a man and his daughter who had drowned in the Rio Grande on the border with Mexico.
Poynter wrote this week about the topic and provided some insights into what newsrooms should consider when thinking about publishing sensitive images.
Madison TV station WKOW-TV is adding a new newscast and a lifestyle show called Midday Madison.
27 News at 11 will begin airing on July 1 and will be followed by Midday Madison airing Monday – Friday from 11:15-11:30 a.m.
Midday Madison will be hosted by Samantha Bowers. She graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism and a minor in political science, where she worked as an anchor and reporter at KOMU 8 News. Prior to her time at KOMU, Bowers was the host of the College Emmy-nominated cooking show, “Show Me Chefs.”
“We’ve wanted to launch a local lifestyle show for some time” said WKOW General Manager, Tom Allen. “The time is right and we’re fortunate to have a great host for the show in Samantha Bowers.”
Midday Madison will have something for everyone, but it will be specifically geared toward local women. The show will range from features on cooking tips, exercise segments, health and wellness, events and happenings in south central Wisconsin.
“If there is anything close to a dream job, Midday Madison is it for me!” Bowers said. “It gives me the ability to combine all of the things I love, from do-it-yourself projects, fitness and food, to shedding light on all the great work being done right here in Southern Wisconsin.”
Journalists in Illinois are contending with a public official’s media policy that requires reporters to submit questions in advance of an interview and face termination of the interview if the reporter asks questions that don’t appear on a pre-approved list.
The RTDNA, Illinois News Broadcasters Association, the Illinois Broadcasters Association and the Illinois Press Association sent a letter to Marilyn Hite Ross expressing their concerns about the policy and the removal of a reporter from a news conference when the reporter asked a question not related to the stated topic for the news conference.
Your insistence that news organizations submit a written interview request, and especially the requirement to specifically identify potential questions and to provide the perspective of the story, makes your office an outlier among public institutions here and around the state.
You can read more about the situation here and be on the lookout for similar situations in your coverage area.
A new WBA Award will recognize the young professionals forging new paths in broadcasting.
The WBA Young Professional of the Year Award seeks to recognize young broadcasters who have made a significant impact on their stations and communities. Nominees must be under the age of 40 at the time of their nomination and must have spent a minimum of two years at a radio or TV station in Wisconsin. Finalists will be selected based on their contributions to the industry, spirit of innovation, and community involvement.
The award was established by the WBA Young Professionals Committee and nominees will be judged by a subcommittee of the WBA Board. The subcommittee will select the six finalists and the winner from those finalists. All six will be profiled in WBA publications and recognized at the WBA Summer Conference. The winner will be awarded at the 2020 Summer Conference in La Crosse.
Anyone can make nominations. Nominations will be accepted in the form of a letter of recommendation not to exceed 500 words. Nominations are currently open and will be due by Sept. 30 at 5 p.m.
Submissions can be made here.
You don’t have to be a baseball fan to learn something from the WBA Doug Chickering – WIAA Sports Workshop, which this year features Brewers statistical expert.
The workshop will be held July 24 at Miller Park and includes a ticket to the afternoon game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Speakers this year include officials from the WIAA, Brewers Radio Network announcer Jeff Levering, and Brewers VP of Strategy and Analytics, Mike Schwartz.
You’ll also be fed a ballpark-style lunch.
Seats are limited, so don’t put this off.
Two Wisconsin broadcast newsrooms have won National Murrow Awards for their breaking news coverage.
WTMJ-AM in Milwaukee won an award in the large market radio category for its coverage of the fire at Trinity Lutheran Church. WISC-TV in Madison won an award in the small market television category for its coverage of the Sun Prairie explosion.
Find the full list of winners here.
The awards were announced Tuesday morning. Award winners will be recognized Oct. 14 at the RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Awards Gala at Gothan Hall in New York City.
Broadcast networks will be looking to their local affiliates in the 2020 election cycle as they try to tell the story of the next election “from the ground up.”
The decision is in reaction to the 2016 election in which networks feel the inaccurate assumptions drove flawed coverage.
You can read more here and don’t be surprised when your network stops by your newsroom, especially in Wisconsin, which will be a battleground state in 2020, and will host the 2020 Democratic Convention.
Have you noticed that the media is not naming mass shooters as much as they used to?
It’s something the public asked for and seems to be getting it now. It takes away the notoriety that shooters would often enjoy after committing their crimes.
This article from Poynter examines the change and suggests what might be next for how journalism handles these far too frequent crimes.
When you’re in the trenches trying to turn one or more stories everyday, it can be easy to forget some of the sage advice you once got as a young journalist.
Here’s a list of tips that you might want to print out and check up on every few months.
Our favorite from this list: No. 19
“Always remember: journalism, and journalists, matter.”
Broadcast journalists take on more stress from trauma than they might realize, but its important that they don’t process the trauma without help.
This article explains how healing from trauma and stress begins with awareness.
Read the article to learn more, and if you’re still interested, consider going to Excellence in Journalism held Sept. 5-7 in San Antonio.
WBA Newsroom