WBA Newsroom
RTDNA is offering the following FREE webinar on Tuesday, July 21. Check it out:
Inclusive journalism is more than diversity on-air, it is really about how journalists work to intentionally cover minority communities fairly. Journalists must challenge themselves to recognize their own implicit bias and learn to mitigate it; avoid the perpetuation of dangerous negative racial stereotypes; and produce journalism that is inclusive and reflective of the whole community they serve.
Empathy is a powerful journalistic tool that helps us learn how others see the world and understand how they feel about it.
Join us on Tuesday, July 21, at 2pm ET/11am Pacific for a virtual training on practicing inclusive journalism. This 90-minute webinar is free and open to all. Registration required.
Using real examples and engaging exercises, we look hard at coverage of minority communities through several lenses: covering crime and the relationship with police; how to accurately cover protests, violence and riots and how to look beyond the immediate play-by-play of breaking news; and expand the understanding of what many people of color, especially members of the Black community, are asking for.
Attendees will learn:
- The coverage cycle for protest, civil disobedience, violence and riots and how they impact our audience. How to disassociate violence from protest and accurately reflect the diverse perspectives represented.
- The news relationship with law enforcement. How to hold police accountable while fairly representing their perspective.
- Making the right word choice and using the right language. The language of race and protest is loaded by those with agendas. Without proper understanding and translation, journalists can do great damage to whole communities and to our own credibility.
- How to have difficult newsroom conversations about race and inclusion with respect and understanding and explore how we can empathically serve those within both our internal and external communities.
SPEAKERS:
Kevin Benz
An veteran newsroom coach and trainer, Kevin has worked in broadcast journalism for over 35 years, in nearly every job in the newsroom, including 14 years as news director. He has been coaching inclusive Journalism to journalists and newsrooms since the death of Trayvon Martin, 6 years ago. Kevin is a former Chairman of RTDNA.
Sara Fahim
Sara is an experienced speaker, trainer, strategic planner, researcher and ideas consultant. She helps companies looking to change the way they think about their culture and the communities they serve. Born to multi-cultural parents and fluent in Arabic, she teaches the use of empathy as a skill set that, when learned and applied, can make meaningful and impactful changes within people and companies. Through empathy training, she equips journalists with the tools to better collaborate and connect, especially in times of change and uncertainty.