Opinion

A Former Fake News Creator on Covering Fake News

I am known by many people as many things, but above all I am a father, a husband, a son, a brother, and by all means, a hard-working, middle-class American.…
AI Is Journalism’s Next Big Threat (or Opportunity)

AI Is Journalism’s Next Big Threat (or Opportunity)

Recently I watched a 15-second Burger King commercial, which was designed to trigger my voice-activated Google devices. In the ad, a Burger King employee, standing behind a counter at the…
Another Under-Covered Trump-Voting Demographic

Another Under-Covered Trump-Voting Demographic

The media are making good on their promise to spend more time in Trumpland, to explore more deeply the animating thoughts of the millions of supposedly previously overlooked Americans who…
Here Comes Somebody: Journalism and the Trust Economy

Here Comes Somebody: Journalism and the Trust Economy

I think we’re beyond peak fake news pandemic. The early fever of moral panic has abated. Attention is moving from symptoms to cause. And so begins the sober, purposeful work…
Reporting the Bad News—And the Good

Reporting the Bad News—And the Good

The federal government implemented a policy that helped reduce the deficit and how much senior citizens had to pay for drug prescriptions they otherwise couldn’t afford. The policy made it…
A Time for Press Solidarity, Not Finger-Pointing

A Time for Press Solidarity, Not Finger-Pointing

Deniz Yücel is the only German journalist who is in prison in Turkey for doing his job. He has been in police custody since February 14, when he turned himself…
Why Coverage Must Reflect the Complexities of Race

Why Coverage Must Reflect the Complexities of Race

It wasn’t all that long ago that top U.S. journalists seemed most concerned with explaining why the decision by tens of millions of Americans to vote for Donald Trump made…
The Road to Better National Journalism Starts in Small Towns

The Road to Better National Journalism Starts in Small Towns

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from covering the 2016 presidential election, it’s that the best stories can and should come from unexpected places.I take that literally: when I…
6 Things Journalists Can Do to Win Back Trust

6 Things Journalists Can Do to Win Back Trust

The beat down of the mainstream media in recent years has been painful to watch, if for no other reason than research shows much of it is preventable.At the root…
Covering American Muslims—as an American Muslim

Covering American Muslims—as an American Muslim

The story that has dominated coverage of Muslims in America this past year, especially these past few months, has been the rise of Islamophobia and how President Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric…