Trump porn stifles news gathering: Nicholas Kristof writes that the national nonstop focus on Trump takes attention away from major issues like drug overdoses and shorter life expectancy.
“The biggest Trump scandals aren’t those unfolding in Washington, but those devastating the lives of the poor and vulnerable in distant American towns,” he writes.
Putting ISIS sources at risk: Belkis Wille writes that news organizations “should not interview captured or suspected ISIS members who are in no position to consent freely.”
They “may face legal and physical risks, including torture, by cooperating with journalists — no matter how enticing the story.”
AP’s changing style: Merrill Perlman points to a change in the definition of “collision.”
AP no longer requires that two bodies must be in motion for a “collision” to happen. The old style, writes Perlman, “was more honor’d in the breach than in the observance…”
World Press Freedom Day: Brian Stelter reports that dozens of news organizations join forces to promote high-quality journalism.
“It’s unusual to see media companies encouraging people to check out rival brands,” says Stelter. “The New York Times, in a print ad on Tuesday, is recommending its arch-rival The Wall Street Journal.” The move encourages the public to seek other sources of news.
Muckraking in Africa: Andrea Gurwitt writes about what American journalists can learn from African journalists.
“American journalists should study African journalism so that Americans can understand their own future,” a source tells Gurwitt. Some of the bravest African reporters devoted their lives to hard-hitting stories while working more or less on their own.
Domain spoofing remains a big source of ad fraud, writes Michael Tiffany.
“Cybercriminals use malware and other means to send bid requests to the RTB ecosystem that look like they come from browsers visiting major publishers,” he writes. “These spoofed bid requests attract real bids and make real money.” Ads.txt is a simple solution.
Michelle Wolf’s jokes: Jen Chaney writes that the comedienne’s jokes at the White House Correspondent’s dinner were misunderstood, scathing, unapologetic and often funny.
“They’re missing the underlying point of Wolf’s comedy: That what should concern every American are the smokescreens that Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other members of the Trump administration create, and that make it so hard for White House correspondents to uncover the actual truth.”
Falling short on covering AIDS and gays: New York Times staffers find the newspaper “had a spotty record of covering the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s — and gay culture in general.”
When covered, those stories were “often buried in the back of the newspaper” and deemed not important enough for the front page.
Making transparency clear: Andrew Seaman explains how “transparency” grew as a recognized concept in journalism.
Journalism was largely opaque until the invention and widespread use of the internet, he writes.
“News organizations can no longer stubbornly refuse to issue corrections or other clarifications without pushback,” he writes. “Journalists and news organizations are — in many ways — completely exposed to the public.”
Facebook publishes its community standards:
Hate speech defined as “a direct attack on people based on what we call protected characteristics — race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender, gender identity and serious disability or disease.”
The goal of its community standards “is to encourage expression and create a safe environment.”
Facebook says “we remove content, disable accounts and work with law enforcement when we believe there is a genuine risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety.”
Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists 