OFF THE TOP
You might have heard: 13 tips to help reporters cover the issues most likely to pop up with voting and Election Day
But did you know: Trump’s attempts to stop voting early will only succeed if there’s a ‘massive institutional failure by the news media to render that basic situation with total clarity’ (The Washington Post)
President Trump’s team have said that the president may attempt to invalidate millions of votes by preemptively declaring victory, and asserting that any attempts to keep counting votes constitutes a “theft” of the election. Greg Sargent in the Washington Post argues that this strategy will only work if the media allows it, and lays out concrete steps to ensure that Trump’s tactic doesn’t work. For one, focusing on the percentage of uncounted ballots, rather than of counted votes, will allow the audience to understand that counting absentee ballots is part of the process of the election. Another step is to avoid describing court victories that ensure voting rights as “victories for Democrats.”
+ Legal and safety resources for journalists: Wendy Weiser of the Brennan Center for Justice discusses the state of election law in the lead-up to the election (Brennan Center); The Reporter’s Committee releases an Election Legal Guide in English and Spanish (RCFP); Asian American Journalists Association compiles election safety list of resources for reporters (Twitter, @ajaa); The National Task Force on Election Crises has guides on voter intimidation, vote counting, post-election military deployment and more (Election Task Force)
+ Election night coverage previews: How the Upshot’s updated Needle will work (The New York Times); The Times’ Election Day game plan on social media: Share carefully (The New York Times); What The Washington Post’s election results will look like (The Washington Post); Here are the news networks’ election night coverage plans (AdWeek); How TV news going to cover the weirdest, most fraught election in history (The Washington Post); How The Associated Press is handling this election
+ Noted: Star Tribune unveils expanded “News In Education” program to bring free digital news access to all Minnesota schools (Star Tribune Co.); Fort Worth Star-Telegram agrees to voluntarily recognize union for newsroom employees (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
API RESOURCES
5 guideposts for thoughtfully covering the voting
With so much extra pressure on this year’s presidential election, journalists need to ensure that they’re helping, not frightening, their audience. API offers five guideposts to help cover the voting in ways that inform rather than inflame. One key is to present genuine human error as just that, rather than jump to assuming that these are malicious attacks. Learn the details of how voting, mail-in and absentee ballots and vote counting work in your area to provide context for any errors that may occur.
TRY THIS AT HOME
With Talk2020, The Wall Street Journal turns an internal reporting tool into a reusable news product (Nieman Lab)
With the Wall Street Journal’s new Talk2020 app, readers can search a database of thousands of transcripts to find quotes from the presidential and vice presidential candidates. From focus groups last summer, the Journal found that people wanted a tool like this to back up points they were making, both online and in person. The transcripts come from speeches, media appearances, debates and other events, and can be sorted by issue, candidate and date. Talk2020 began its life as an internal tool for reporters in the Journal’s D.C. bureau to quickly search through President Trump’s speeches, and was reimagined as a public-facing tool for users who appreciate the “raw materials” of the transcripts.
OFFSHORE
How an Austrian news outlet gamified the news for loyal readers (Twipe)
The team at Vorarlberg Online in Austria was looking for a method to reward loyal readers when they launched Ländlepunkte, which allowed them to reward engagement with points. Those points could be used for vouchers, concert tickets and various prizes, though 65% of the points went to redeeming Vorarlberg Online’s own products. Logged in readers earn points for reading articles, sharing pieces and leaving comments. Since it launched, the number of logged in users has jumped from 3% to 30%. The outlet has plans to convert Ländlepunkte into a currency that can be used at local businesses.
OFFBEAT
What to expect from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube on Election Day (The New York Times)
Three of the major carriers of online misinformation — Facebook, Twitter and YouTube — have all taken major steps to update their security systems, policies and processes for Election Day. At Facebook, a team of dozens in a “war room” will attempt to identify efforts to delegitimize the election, and tools will be available that are designed to curb the spread of inflammatory posts. Twitter is taking a two-pronged approach, with one team focused on rooting out misinformation and the bots that spread it, and another highlighting reliable information in their Explore and Trend sections. The site will also require two independent news sources to confirm a victory before a candidate can post about their win on the platform. YouTube says it will remove any videos that mislead voters or interfere with the voting process, even from a candidate, and feature a playlist of live election results from credible sources on the homepage.
+ Twitter names 7 outlets — ABC News, AP, CNN, CBS News, Decision Desk HQ, Fox News and NBC News — to call election results (Axios)
UP FOR DEBATE
What to expect from right-wing media if Biden wins (Columbia Journalism Review)
In many ways, conservative media outlets have acted as cheerleaders for President Trump over the past four years, writes Howard Polskin. If Joe Biden wins this election, he says, he expects a handful of storylines to emerge from the rightwing bloc of the media. After accusations of a rigged election, he says these outlets will focus on Biden’s health, throw allegations of corruption or incompetence at Biden, and heavily scrutinize Kamala Harris. He also expects that anti-mask messaging will continue, as will attacks on Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Some may also invest in investigative journalism units to dig up dirt on Biden and hold him “accountable” when they feel the mainstream media is being too soft.
SHAREABLE
‘When terrible things happen, our numbers go up’: How NYT Cooking is approaching the pandemic, politics and inclusion (Digiday)
When the pandemic hit, The New York Times’ standalone cooking section dropped the paywall to its “What to Cook” section. It was both a goodwill gesture to people stuck at home and a tactic designed to lure more subscribers to NYT Cooking, which has been a huge revenue boon for the paper in its six-year life. The section’s founding editor, Sam Sifton, says that the cooking section appeals to readers when life around them is stressful or dark. The section is also working to address criticisms that it is too white and upper-middle class; the paper plans to double its number of food reporters.
The post Need to Know: November 3, 2020 appeared first on American Press Institute.
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