Opinion

Journalists Can Help People Tell Their Own Stories by Talking Less, Listening More

Journalists Can Help People Tell Their Own Stories by Talking Less, Listening More

American journalists are chronicling a nation in turmoil. The strife centers around inequality and is fueled by our inability to understand each other. We are a country of factions that…
Newsrooms Should Make Space for Emotions

Newsrooms Should Make Space for Emotions

I can’t remember his name now, but I remember the abject fear of getting something wrong and having to face his wrath — the classic editorial anger meted out to…
Bob Woodward and the Ethics of the Presidential Scoop

Bob Woodward and the Ethics of the Presidential Scoop

Bob Woodward made the wrong choice. He should have alerted the public that Donald Trump, the president of the United States, was lying about the coronavirus. He was in a…
Before You Can Fix Your Newsroom, You Need to Fix Your Life

Before You Can Fix Your Newsroom, You Need to Fix Your Life

If you are looking at this reckoning on race and trying to change your newsroom, I ask you to do something harder: Take a critical look at yourself.There are no…
Journalists Need to Remember that Not All News Readers are White

Journalists Need to Remember that Not All News Readers are White

Every journalist needs to imagine a reader, someone to tell the story to. Of course, we all want many, many readers but keeping at least one person in mind during…
How Objectivity Can Make Audiences Cynical about Politics—and Journalism

How Objectivity Can Make Audiences Cynical about Politics—and Journalism

It’s a shame that headlines for straight-news stories about the stalled stimulus talks between Congress and the White House didn’t plainly say this before the issue was swamped by coverage…
As Erdoğan Cracks Down, Turkey's Independent Journalists Need Digital Skills and Business Acumen

As Erdoğan Cracks Down, Turkey’s Independent Journalists Need Digital Skills and Business Acumen

Shooting a glance at the uncanny paraphernalia on my desk feels like watching a “Breaking Bad” teaser: A fist-sized rock near my monitor, a half-burnt tear gas canister on the…
Trump’s Presidency Isn’t Normal. Journalists Should Stop Reporting As If It Is

Trump’s Presidency Isn’t Normal. Journalists Should Stop Reporting As If It Is

I began writing this piece with trepidation, wondering if it would be fair to compare the president of the United States of America to a president in SyFy’s cult classic…
In Photographing Social Justice Protests, Respect Means ‘Looking Again’

In Photographing Social Justice Protests, Respect Means ‘Looking Again’

On July 19, Black Lives Matter Toronto activists held a press conference about the release of three demonstrators from police custody in connection with pink paint that had been thrown…
Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, and “The Pipeline Problem”

Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, and “The Pipeline Problem”

Some years ago, I was turning in my invoice for payment to NPR at the end of a month. I haven’t been a full-time employee at NPR, where I spent…