Imagine a country where reporters shy away from contentious issues, where journalism is considered a dead-end job, where the private sector rarely advertises through mass media, and where the mainstream press wields virtually no power in national affairs. That country … Read more
As the editor of a nonprofit news site in New Orleans, I occasionally receive emails from young, earnest college grads who have recently moved to town and want to do work that matters. They sometimes have a bit of journalism … Read more
In the spring of 2015, after more than six years as a producer and reporter, I left my public radio job in Detroit. I was leaving a steady gig with great benefits to jump into the inconsistent world of freelancing. Read more
We are amid another shallow media debate, this time triggered by the New Yorker’s decision to first invite, then disinvite Steve Bannon from The New Yorker Festival. Very Serious and Very Concerned People are up in arms … Read more
I know what it feels like to be in the crosshairs of “the mob,” online and otherwise, black and white. It’s not pleasant. But there’s no reason for a journalist to respond in kind. That tension was at the heart … Read more
Don Smith, a veteran of both the editorial and publishing sides of the business and the executive director of the West Virginia Press Association (WVPA), talks about the phone calls he received from long-time community newspaper owners … Read more
On a below-zero night in Chicago, those who are homeless battle the elements while they carry with them everything they own. That could be extra clothes, photos, medications or the donated cell phone they use as their lifeline to a … Read more
I couldn’t get past the pearl bracelet. There is much to chew on about the story of Ali Watkins—whose email and phone records were seized by federal prosecutors investigating James Wolfe, a former senior aide to the … Read more
Primary season is in full swing across America. Every election year, news organizations face the big challenge of how to engage readers, viewers and listeners in what many citizens consider boring, even irrelevant to their daily lives: midterm elections. Traditional … Read more
We helped change the course of history. We likely made the difference in a close presidential election. We helped Russia undermine our democracy. We compounded the self-righteous mistakes by the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We helped make … Read more
