OFF THE TOP
You might have heard: News sites are experiencing record-breaking traffic as readers seek out coronavirus information (Nieman Lab)
But did you know: Partisan sites are not seeing significant (or any) increases in traffic (New York Times)
Local news sites have seen huge jumps in online traffic as people try to learn how the pandemic is affecting their hometowns, and established media brands have also seen audience numbers skyrocket as Americans look for updates on how the pandemic is impacting the economy overall. However, the virus appears to be curbing Americans’ appetite for more opinionated takes from partisan sources. Publications like The Daily Caller, on the right, and Truthdig on the left, have recorded stagnant or falling numbers, and none have seen the large jumps in traffic like mainstream local or national news.
+ Noted: 400 local newsrooms receive $5,000 grants to support coronavirus work (Facebook Journalism Project); Gannett stock has now fallen to 65 cents a share (Poynter); Here are the newsroom layoffs, furloughs and closures caused by the coronavirus — “We’ll try to keep up” (Poynter)
API RESOURCES
Do more reporting that is based on audience needs
In our report “How a culture of listening strengthens reporting and relationships,” we explore ways newsrooms are listening to their communities — particularly marginalized or misrepresented groups — and responding to their information needs. See how you can adapt their listening strategies for your own audience.
TRY THIS AT HOME
How news outlets are adapting membership appeals during coronavirus (Membership Puzzle Project)
Many member-driven newsrooms are setting up for ongoing membership campaigns, embedding calls to action into all content and products such as newsletters. Strong appeals are built from transparency around news orgs’ financial situations and specificity in their asks for support, writes Ariel Zirulnick. “Those organizations who have found the right balance — between asking for support, sharing their struggles (without turning their readers into their therapists), and showing empathy for their audience members’ hardships — have seen returns.”
+ A free tool to share with your audiences that helps people decide when to seek medical care for COVID-19 (Center for Health Journalism)
OFFBEAT
Making sure your journalism is representative and inclusive (Medill Local News Initiative)
The Seattle Times has a dedicated Slack channel run by its diversity and inclusion task force in which reporters can share stories they’re working on that touch on race or marginalized communities. The stories can be back-read before they’re published, says Corinne Chin, a video producer at The Seattle Times who helps run the diversity and inclusion task force. “We can help each other identify our blind spots.” Many of the suggested changes to articles are subtle, says Chin, but “I think that a lot of our responsibility in journalism is really happening at that level.”
+ Related: The Maynard Institute is sharing inclusivity tips for journalists reporting on COVID-19 (Medium, Maynard Institute)
UP FOR DEBATE
Does reporting on panic buying fuel panic buying? (Columbia Journalism Review)
Research suggests that it does. While “panic buying is newsworthy and should be covered,” says Jon Sawyer, executive director of the Pulitzer Center, it’s irresponsible for journalists to ignore the larger context. Grocery stores are not going to run out of food and supplies — but media-fueled hoarding spates can have disproportionate effects on vulnerable populations. “Every story about panic buying should explain why hoarding is unnecessary and bad for society at large,” says Judith Matloff, a Columbia University journalism professor. “I’d like to see more stories about how it hurts the poor, who don’t have the time to snake around the block at Trader Joe’s or drive to Home Depot in another suburb.”
+ “Removing paywalls on coronavirus coverage is noble. It also makes no sense.” (Poynter)
SHAREABLE
Microloans for Journalists is matching journalists to help them battle coronavirus-driven hardship (Nieman Lab)
A group of ProPublica reporters and Sisi Wei, program director for OpenNews, have launched a microlending program for U.S. journalists. Journalists in need (borrowers) can sign up to receive a loan of $500 while other journalists (lenders) sign up to lend. The team behind the project will verify that the borrower is a professional journalist who’s been furloughed or laid off and match him or her with a lender. The pair then handles the transaction themselves. Borrowers are expected, in good faith, to pay the lender back within a year. “Microlending as an idea is usually associated with the deeply impoverished in the developing world,” writes Hanaa’ Tameez. “But journalists have been helping other journalists for about as long as the profession has existed.”
+ Related: Contributions to this GoFundMe campaign for furloughed journalists has skyrocketed to $45,000 in the last several days (GoFundMe); We’ve compiled a list of relief funding (and other resources) for journalists
The post Need to Know: April 8, 2020 appeared first on American Press Institute.
from American Press Institute https://ift.tt/2UTcWeM
0 التعليقات:
Post a Comment