Monthly Archives: August 2021

Midwest Environmental Advocates has published an open government guide for Wisconsin covering open meetings and open records laws.

The 15-page document would be helpful to anyone new to Wisconsin’s openness laws.

The document can be downloaded here [PDF].

A common criticism of hurricane coverage by news outlets is the live shot we’ve all seen of a reporter trying to stay on his or her feet as they stand in the thick of the storm.

Poynter is arguing that these reporters play an important role because if those outside the affected area can see what’s happening, help is more likely to follow.

You can read more here.

The Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute is hosting the following free session on the topic of connecting journalism research and practice:

It is now well-established that the long-time economic model on which the news industry has relied is no longer sustainable. Facebook, Google, and declining levels of popular trust in the media have been major contributors to this situation. Simultaneously, the closure of local media outlets across the country has left many areas without access to regional news, compounded the distance between media and publics, and further eroded civic engagement. Despite the looming crisis in journalism, a research-practice gap plagues the news industry. Journalism Research that Matters argues that an under-appreciated factor in the news crisis is a potentially symbiotic relationship between journalism studies and the industry that it researches. This panel will explore how collaboration between professionals and researchers can generate positive change for the future of the news industry.

Panelists:

Louise Story, former Chief News Strategist and Chief Product & Technology Officer at The Wall Street Journal

Emma Carew Grovum, Founder Kimbap Media, 2021-2022 Reynolds Fellow

Danielle K Brown, Cowles Professor of Journalism, Diversity and Equality, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Damon Kiesow, Knight Chair in Digital Editing and Producing, Missouri School of Journalism

Register here for this FREE session.

Two Wisconsin broadcast newsrooms have won National Murrow Awards, including a Madison station awarded for overall excellence.

WISC-TV won the award in the small market television category for overall excellence. WITI-TV won the podcast award for the Open Record podcast.

Find the full list of winners here.

The awards were announced Tuesday morning. Award winners will be recognized Oct. 27 at the RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Awards Gala in New York City.

A thunderstorm can disrupt someone’s day, even if the storm isn’t, strictly speaking, “severe” as defined by the National Weather Service.

Talent coach and weather content consultant Tim Heller, writing for RTDNA, says, “Local TV station weather teams usually do an excellent job connecting with viewers during severe weather. But we can’t build a loyal following if we only show up when warnings are issued.”

He has more to say on this topic. You can check that out here.

After three years as sports director at WSAW-TV in Wausau, Reece Van Haaften is making a move to Tennessee.

Van Haaften is headed to WATE in Knoxville.

His last day at WSAW is Friday.

Your WBA is offering members free access to a Poynter educational session titled “Fighting Fakes and Truth Decay.” 

The session is online on Jan. 4 at 11 a.m. CT. You can learn more and sign up here.

Here’s what you will learn:

• Where does information come from and who is behind it? 
• Why do people spread disinformation? 
• How can you detect fake photos? 
• What is metadata and what will it tell you? 
• What does every journalist need to understand about algorithms? 
• See the newest tools fakers use to alter video and audio. 
• How to use polysearch tools to get to the root of an images’ origin.

Your WBA is offering members free access to a Poynter educational session titled “Battling Bias.” 

The session is online on Dec. 8 at 11 a.m. CT. You can learn more and sign up here.

Here’s what you will learn:

• Where do our biases come from?
• How do we recognize our own biases?
• Eight kinds of biases that can influence our journalism (these don’t make you a bad person, they mean you are normal) 
• How biases influence who is in and out of our coverage 
• How you can find new voices that will give you new insights, even on deadline 
• How biases even show up in our Google searches 
• The MOST likely place your biases might show up in a carefully crafted story

Your WBA is offering members free access to a two-part Poynter workshop on powerful storytelling.

Here’s what will be covered:

–Finding and developing compelling characters 
–Finding sharp story focus 
–What goes where in the story and why 
–How to make words and video work seamless together even when you have limited video 
–How to spot soundbites that deeply connect with viewers
–The eight motivators that make any story more interesting 
–Getting beyond the obvious to the more important “why” of the story 
–The power of the Ladder of Abstraction (how to make interesting stories important and important stories interesting) 
–Sentence structure that makes information unforgettable 
–Navigating the friction between creative storytelling and clear storytelling

Part one is on Oct. 21 and part 2 is on Nov. 4. Both sessions start at 11 a.m.

Learn more and sign up here.

A reporter at Wausau TV station WSAW-TV is one of 20 TV journalists from across the country awarded a fellowship from Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE).

The fellowship means Emily Davies will join the TV Data Journalism Bootcamp taking place in September.

The fellowship received financial backing from the Knight Foundation.