Those with years of experience in a newsroom have naturally learned a lot from working around their peers, but for those new to the business, they might be missing out by having to work from home.
Poynter is writing on the topic this week by connecting with some of the reporters who fall within this group.
The article provides some advice for those learning their way in the news business who don’t have the benefit of working in a newsroom.
The political debate season is officially underway this week and Poynter is out with a primer to prepare journalists.
While the candidates will get most of the attention, there will also be a lot of eyes on the moderators and how they manage the debate.
Journalists should take good notes as they might be asked to sit on a panel for a debate some day. There’s a lot to be learned from watching how other debates are conducted.
The election could be an opportunity for newsrooms to build trust with their audiences, according to this article posted today by RTDNA.
Lynn Walsh from Trusting News writes that its important to tell your audience the processes you use to produce fair and accurate work.
She shares four points to show how a newsroom’s political coverage can be used to build trust with your audience. Check that our here.
Recruiting for newsrooms positions was already difficult before the pandemic, but COVID-19 has added a new level of complexity.
RTDNA published this article this week from Andrew Seaman, Editor for Job Seekers & #GetHired at LinkedIn News that suggests four keys to recruiting during COVID-19.
Seaman writes that job seekers are not letting the pandemic hold them back and they expect respect during hiring interactions.
Wake Up Wisconsin anchor Josh Gregory is headed to Ohio.
Gregory’s last day at WAOW-TV in Wausau is Sept. 25. His next job is in Dayton where he’ll join WHIO as a producer.
“To all of Central Wisconsin: Thanks for letting me into your homes. You welcomed me into the community with open arms and bestowed a love for the badger state upon me,” Gregory announced to viewers on the station’s website Wednesday. “In my two-plus years at WAOW you have made me a better journalist, a better worker, and a better human being. It’s been an honor to report and serve such a wonderful, close-knit community. Thank you for an unforgettable time.”
Gregory started at WAOW in May 2018.
Wisconsin’s recently-enacted constitutional amendment known as Marcy’s Law, which establishes rights for crime victims, is under scrutiny from public records advocates who say the amendment is being over-interpreted by some law enforcement agencies.
The concerns are prompted by a decision by the Dodge County Sheriff to modify its daily incident report to remove the identities of crime victims, including people and businesses.
Law enforcement and public records advocates are seeking advice from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
You can read more about this story here.
Jessob Reisbeck is joining the evening anchor team at CBS 58 (WDJT-TV) in Milwaukee.
Reisbeck will join Natalie Shepherd and Chief Meteorologist Drew Burgoyne on the CBS 58 News, weeknights at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. and at 9 p.m. on WMLW The M.
Reisbeck is returning to Wisconsin after reporting at WJLA, Washington D.C.’s ABC affiliate. After graduating from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University, he got his start as a sports reporter in Wausau at WAOW. After stints in New York and California, he took a job as morning anchor at FOX6 (WITI-TV) in Milwaukee.
“The people are what brought me and my family back to the Badger state,” Reisbeck said. “The love and support that we have received here is second to none. I’m honored to be back inside your homes and in the palm of your hands.”
“Jessob knows Milwaukee and its viewers. I respected him as a competitor because of his ability to connect with people and handle all different types of stories.” said Kent Harrell, News Director at CBS 58.
Anne Brown, General Manager at CBS 58, has worked with Reisbeck previously and said “I’ve seen his positive energy and work ethic in action and know he’ll be a terrific addition to our newsroom.”
Reisbeck starts in November.
We have new FREE resources available to you and your newsrooms to prepare you for the upcoming election.
The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and UW Center for Journalism Ethics has published a guide for reporters on covering election misinformation and disinformation.
Download the guide here [PDF].
The guide is the source for this FREE virtual event coming up next Monday, Sept. 28 at 11 a.m.:
Covering Election Misinformation and Disinformation
Exploring the fast-paced, facts-optional and sort of sticky-feeling world of the social web can be an overwhelming experience for any reporter.
The good news is that people tend to trust local sources of information. By monitoring social media for potentially harmful falsehoods, you have a way to create important service journalism.
Come learn about misinformation in your backyard, how to cover it, as well as what should and should not be covered.
Howard Hardee is the election integrity reporter for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and a local news fellow with First Draft, a nonprofit organization with the mission of protecting communities from harmful misinformation.
Kathleen Bartzen Culver is the James E. Burgess Chair in Journalism Ethics in the School of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Director of the Center for Journalism Ethics.
The Election Integrity Project is a nonpartisan initiative of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and the Center for Journalism Ethics at UW–Madison in collaboration with First Draft and with the support of Craig Newmark Philanthropies.
This event is co-hosted by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.
The Society of Professional Journalists released the following statement regarding a recently passed resolution:
The Society of Professional Journalists said in a resolution passed Saturday that it believes the controls on employee speech by government agencies have led to severe limitations on public scrutiny of those entities and to a higher COVID-19 death toll.
SPJ cited the blockage and delays of reporters by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as particularly tragic, noting also the censorship in its daughter agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.
For many years, a number of agencies have banned employees from speaking to reporters without notifying authorities, often through the agency public information offices.
The forced oversight leads to intimidation of spokespersons within agencies. Beyond that, excessive delays and total blockages often prevent reporters from speaking to people at all.
In a session at the SPJ2020 Journalism Conference this past weekend, Donald G. McNeil, Jr., a science and health reporter for The New York Times, decried the current situation at CDC and HHS, saying, “It’s a horrible experience for a journalist trying to get life-saving information out of your own government.”
SPJ has led several coalition efforts opposing these controls over six years.
The Society’s 83 delegates passed the resolution Saturday during the Business Meeting at SPJ2020 as part of a package of resolutions in support of journalism.
Read the full resolution here.
WBAY-TV in Green Bay is updating its news set and adding two newscasts.
The Gray station is adding half hour newscasts at 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. bringing the station’s daily total of news hours to six. The 4:30 newscast will fit between existing newscasts at 4 and 5 p.m.
The station also teased a new set on Sept. 8.
WBA Newsroom