SF police sow suspicion of media: The heavy-handed seizure of a freelance reporter’s records and devices is a gross violation of federal rules, writes Kelly McBride.
“By continuing to argue publicly that their raid was justified, and that this particular journalist is a bad person who shouldn’t be trusted, the SFPD adds to the public confusion over the role of the press,” she writes.
Evaluating medical studies: Journalists should consider newsworthiness, methodology and categories of studies before covering them, writes Chloe Reichel, who offers a tip sheet.
“With the amount of research published on a daily basis, journalists have to work to discern what’s worth covering,” she writes.
Philanthropy boosts western media: A journalism collaboration stretching from Montana to New Mexico focuses on rural issues and Native American stories, writes Christine Schmidt.
A partnership started in 2015 aims to make local newspapers and TV stations useful sources of information.
Media covering their own scandals: Sex scandals in 2017 and 2018 brought down top media figures, forcing outlets to report about themselves.
Organizations faced questions of how sexual harassment and assault could fester unaddressed, writes Claudia Meyer-Samargia.
“But for individual journalists, particularly those who cover news media, questions focused on how they could cover these cases ethically, with the right balance of truth-telling, transparency and respect for privacy.” Protecting an organization’s reputation is an issue.
Opinion in the news: It’s a split decision when RAND looked at media objectivity, reports Laura Hazard Owen.
Journalism became more subjective over time, she writes. But it depends on the type of journalism.
“Newspapers reporting remains much as it was before the Web — but both TV and online news rely more heavily on emotion, personal experiences and argument.”
Poynter deletes list of unreliable sites: Poynter Institute says it “messed up” in calling 515 websites unreliable without checking the facts, reports Sydney Smith.
“These lapses are surprising given Poynter’s reputation and position as a vaunted journalism education organization,” writes Smith. Poynter admitted using lists compiled by others. Blames “methodology.”
Identifying who funds studies: iMediaEthics reports on NPR’s efforts to identify conflicts of interest because many journal studies end up hidden behind a paywall and readers can’t always find the source material.
Covering mental health: Do more stories on successful mental health treatment, advises Kelly McBride.
Often experts are wrong. Ask how they know that’s the right term, she writes.
What #MeToo means to ethical journalism: Three “tragedies” lurk in the tech workplace, finds Claudia Meyere-Samargia while covering a University of Wisconsin ethics conference.
Quoting tech journalist Kara Swisher, they are lack of self-awareness and reflection, believing that money equates social good and having the inability to empathize with people who are not like you.
Teens make climate news: More than half of surveyed teens said they learned nothing from newspapers about climate change, writes Abby Rabinowitz. Many depend on the internet.
Teen activists use social media to write climate news to “make headlines and framing their message,” she writes. Teens also were a force in the first Earth Day, April 1970.
Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists 