Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism 

OFF THE TOP

You might have heard: During the summer, Seattle police subpoenaed The Seattle Times and local television stations for images of racial justice protests (The Seattle Times)

But did you know: ICE seeks information on BuzzFeed’s sources (BuzzFeed)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued a subpoena seeking the identities of BuzzFeed’s sources for emails sent to the agency’s attorneys. The subpoena demands the publication provide ICE with materials related to a deportation program and plans to fine undocumented immigrants. BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Mark Schoofs said that the effort is “at odds with the U.S. constitution and will not have any impact on our journalism.” The subpoena follows a July report from The Washington Post that the Department of Homeland Security, the agency that ICE falls under, compiled reports on journalists who published leaked documents about protests in Portland, Ore.

+ Noted: The Hartford Courant’s office is closing as the newsroom works remotely (Hartford Business Journal); About 100 Meredith employees from Entertainment Weekly and other publications are forming a union in response to cuts during the pandemic (The Daily Beast)

API RESOURCES

The empathetic newsroom: How journalists can better cover neglected communities 

Cultivating empathy into reporting can lead to better coverage of communities that have historically been marginalized or misrepresented by the media. This report describes empathetic techniques journalists can weave into their work, including spending more face-to-face time with sources, using noverbal cues to show that you’re listening, and reframing questions to get at a source’s motivations and emotions.

TRY THIS AT HOME

How Wired leveraged Cyber Week readers to increase subscription revenue (Digiday)

As nonprofit news organizations are building a fundraising track record with Giving Tuesday, for-profit publications followed suit this year with subscription pushes on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. During those two days, when readers flocked to a Wired article rounding up shopping deals, the magazine offered new subscribers $5 for their first year. This led the magazine to its second and third-highest number of daily subscription sign-ups for the year. 

OFFSHORE

Latin American news organizations offer media literacy support to teachers (LatAm Journalism Review)

In response to misinformation, some outlets are developing materials that schools can use to strengthen students’ critical thinking skills when they consume news. Last month, Prodavinci of Venezuela started a program that connects schools with explainers and other content on public health and history. The program trains teachers on how to use the material and includes a question-and-answer session with students and an epidemiology expert. In Brazil, Agência Lupa has worked to bring college-level journalism classes information on fact-checking, as well as train high school students on debunking and verification techniques.

OFFBEAT

What journalism can learn from mutual aid (Columbia Journalism Review)

Mutual aid networks, which involve people working together to help their community, have grown as marginalized groups face disproportionate impacts from the pandemic. Darryl Holliday believes these systems could provide a model for journalists to prioritize community information needs and reflect the people they serve. Instead of a top-down style of reporting, a mutual aid approach would pose newsrooms as local information hubs that provide public workshops and collaborate with other community organizations not typically associated with journalism, like libraries.

+ Earlier: How mutual aid systems work (The Cut)

UP FOR DEBATE

How less local news has made political divisions far worse (Los Angeles Times)

In the past 15 years, news deserts have expanded as a quarter of newspapers in the United States shut down, and communities without local papers are more likely to be home to polarized voters, who consume news from partisan outlets instead. On the other hand, towns with newspapers have better voter turnout and are less likely to see wasteful spending in local government with journalists there to deliver accountability reporting. American Journalism Project chief executive Sarabeth Berman writes that with community support, nonprofit news organizations can provide local news and help to preserve democracy.

+ Clicks pay for newsrooms and other myths about publishing (The Washington Post)

SHAREABLE

The Daily and The New York Times’ audio empire (CNN)

During the last four years, the Times has invested in audio, with the acquisition of Serial Productions and Audm, an app that translates text stories to audio. As the paper’s audio team has grown from three to 50 employees, daily downloads for the Times’ flagship podcast, The Daily, have ballooned to exceed viewership for many TV news shows and its own pool of weekday print subscribers. At the same time, the Times faces stiffer competition. In the past few years, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Axios and other national publications have all delved into audio.

+ PBS NewsHour correspondent Yamiche Alcindor wants the United States to see its flaws (Glamour)