Staying sane in a news storm: Margaret Sullivan gives seven tips to keep your cool in a hot mess, including:
“Take a break. The news never stops, so put down your phone, turn off your TV and do something else for a few hours. Cook a meal, take a walk, go to a yoga class, read a 19th-century novel.
“Of course, there’s a downside. Chances are that when you come back, some fresh mess will have hit the fan. But at least your heart rate will be lower — for a minute — while you catch up.”
Using digital media to debunk or verify news: Mathew Ingram tells how BBC’s Africa bureau linked Cameroon soldiers to the deaths of two women and two children.
Ingram calls it “an inspiring use of digital journalism” leading to seven arrests.
Fact-checking the NAFTA agreement: Daniel Funke writes about concerns over false and inaccurate claims about the North American Trade Agreement and American trade policy. President Trump threatened to end the agreement.
“The goal: Bring more attention to policy issues that don’t get enough attention in a 24-hour news cycle dominated by Trump coverage,” he writes.
Futurecasting: Ebony Reed writes about ways news companies can grow revenue and expand market opportunities in the future.
Futurecasting “is based on signals, trends and observing various industries to see how they can converge for various possible outcomes, offers us an opportunity (to) think beyond the current horizon,” Reed writes.
Jail for defying data terms of service: D. Victoria Baranetsky notes journalists face possible penalties when using data from public websites like Facebook and Twitter.
No journalists have been prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, she writes, “but their sources have, and some journalists have been asked to stop using specific reporting tools by Facebook.”
YouTube a conspiracy ecosystem: Craig Timberg and Drew Harwell write about wild conspiracies that flood YouTube.
“Among the most popular genres in the collection were related to mass shootings, and especially the one in Las Vegas in October that killed 58 people,” they write. “Typically these portrayed the attacks as politically motivated hoaxes, so called ‘false flags’ intended to dupe the public into believing that gun rights needed to be curtailed.” The 50 most widely viewed mass-shooting conspiracy videos were viewed 50 million times.
Resisting information disorder: Julie Posetti and Cherilyn Ireton write journalists can push back against the scourge of fake news.
“Disinformation and misinformation go beyond challenging journalists’ reputations and safety,” they write. “They question their purpose and effectiveness, and they perpetuate the degradation of journalism to the detriment of civic discourse.”
The enduring weather person: Andrew McCormick observes that weather reporters entertain audiences in fair weather and counsel them in bad.
“It isn’t completely surprising that they would be in demand as storms loom,” he writes. “But it is notable, in the age of Twitter and smart phones, that the broadcast TV weather person — analog, local, old-school — has stayed so viable.”
Messy case of Twitter account ownership: Jonathan Peters writes about a sports reporter sued by a former employer for failing to hand over his Twitter login information when he changed jobs.
“It’s unclear how the case will turn out,” writes Peters. “The problem is twofold: Few cases have addressed social-media ownership in an employment context, and the most relevant ones have settled out of court.”
Covering hurricanes: Kristen Hare and David Beard list ways to prepare for covering dangerous weather.
Such as: Plug in and charge everything you have and keep them charged. Bring pencils. Carry a lot of cash. Bring rubber boots. Wear sunscreen. Rent a car.
Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists 