Monthly Archives: January 2021

The National Association of Broadcasters is highlighting its support for local journalists as it takes notice of threats to the viability of the free press.

In this blog post, the NAB outlines concerns about competition from big tech.

“There’s no denying that big tech’s competitive power is dominating the marketplace for advertising and audiences, putting local journalism at risk at a time when media outlets already face severe economic challenges.”

The NAB expects it to be a topic of conversation with members of Congress in the upcoming session.

Results Broadcasting has established a $1,000 Education Debt Assistance Grant to help broadcasters pay off their student loans. This grant is available to individuals currently employed in Wisconsin broadcasting or related media.

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Must be currently employed at a Wisconsin broadcast radio, television or related media company
• Must have completed a minimum of one year employment with a Wisconsin broadcast radio station, television station, or related media company
• Company must be a dues paying member of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association
• Must submit a letter of support from the current employer signed by the local manager
• Must provide proof of attendance at a university, college, technical school or broadcast school by supplying a copy of transcripts or degree certificate
• Must provide proof of current loan balance (documentation will remain confidential)

Applications will be accepted Jan. 1 through Feb. 28, 2021. The grant will be awarded at the WBA Summer Conference.

A morning producer at WTMJ-AM in Milwaukee, Rachel Frye, was the recipient of the first ever Results Broadcasting Education Grant last year.

For more information and to apply, visit wbafoundation.org.

The Society of Professional Journalists Foundation is receiving a gift of $185,000 from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to put a greater focus on journalism ethics.

The goal is to rebuild trust with the public through a powerful commitment to ethics.

“Journalism and truth have been under attack the past several years in ways we’ve never seen before, and I want to help repair that damage and hopefully prevent it from happening again,” Newmark said. “Rebuilding trust through a powerful commitment to ethics is one way to do that. SPJ is known around the world for its Code of Ethics, which puts it in an ideal position to tackle this work.”

Among other things, the program will expand SPJ’s longstanding Ethics Hotline, which provides journalists with instant access to experts on how to address ethical questions, and will support SPJ’s new Race and Gender Hotline, which provides support for journalists covering sensitive content regarding race and gender.

Read more here.

If you’re pursuing a career in broadcasting, make sure you’re checking out the most popular resource on the WBA website: the job board.

The job board is updated daily with openings from broadcasters across Wisconsin, including many positions in newsrooms.

You can also post your resume for broadcasters to discover. 

A photojournalist who was on hand for the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is going to speak during a session for Poynter this week. 

Join Poynter senior faculty Joie Chen as she talks to Julio Cortez, a photographer with the Associated Press who covered the siege at the Capitol and the high-security inauguration that followed two weeks later.

You can learn more about the Wednesday session and register here. Enrollment is available for a suggested donation of $15.

A resolution introduced Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives thanks journalists for their reporting during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building.

The resolution was introduced by Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) and 42 House members, including Wisconsin House member Mark Pocan.

You can read the resolution here [PDF].

At a time when trust in the media is running low, RTDNA is pointing out that local newsrooms continue to keep the trust of the local communities they cover:

Local broadcast newsrooms remain among the most trusted sources of information, with fewer news consumers citing local news as a source of inaccurate information than any other source. Local newsrooms are also well-equipped to reach news audiences on a variety of platforms including low-tech and legacy channels as well as online.

You can read the full article from RTDNA here.

The journalists who were on the scene for the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol are talking about the experience.

In particular, they’re telling Poynter about how the riotous crowd was treating journalists and an escalation of threats to members of the media.

You can read about it here.

Even veteran political reporters will need to prepare for next week’s unique inauguration.

Poynter wrote today about how to guard your physical and mental health while covering the inauguration.

You can read all about it here.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has resources to share with journalists as they cover the challenges facing America right now.

This is from the NAB’s blog:

NAB is working to protect and defend broadcasters’ First Amendment rights as journalists and is providing resources on nab.org/journalism to help keep reporters safe as they cover events in the wake of last week’s violence at the Capitol and the unrest that may continue in the days that follow.

This site includes guidance from the Radio Television Digital News Association, Poynter Institute, Society of Professional Journalists and others on how journalists can stay safe while reporting from the field.