Name: Block Club Chicago offered two versions of the same breaking news story — with and without a horrifying video
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Block Club Chicago offered two versions of the same breaking news story — with and without a horrifying video

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HOME&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;LATEST STORY&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;April 16, 2021, 7:49 a.m.Readers told the nonprofit local newsroom that they appreciated the option to read an article omitting graphic video and images of 13-year-old Adam Toledo’s death.Body camera footage showing a Chicago police officer fatally shooting 13-year-old Adam Toledo was released on Thursday. , co-founder and director of strategy of the local nonprofit newsroom , watched the video, which shows the boy with his hands up before being shot, and felt sick to her stomach.As a journalist, she felt that she had to watch the footage. But did the public need to see its graphic contents in order to be properly informed?Sabella didn’t think so. She floated the idea of making a second version of the story that would describe — but not embed or screenshot — the footage. The reporters and editors working on the story agreed, and Block Club Chicago published two articles: and .The newsroom flagged the different versions on , putting “NO VIDEO” in the headline and using an image taken by photographer at a memorial for Toldeo instead of a screenshot from the graphic video.“It is deeply traumatic to watch these things, and after a really, really hard year, I think people need an option to not see that,” Sabella said.For any of you who want to know about what the video of Adam Toledo shows but do not want to see the video or any images of it, we’ve created that version of the story for you.— Dawn Rhodes 😷 (@rhodes_dawn)There have long been newsroom debates over whether certain violent or graphic images are . Between widespread smart phone usage in the general public and body cameras in law enforcement, editors are being asked to weigh an image or video’s newsworthiness against &nbsp;more often than ever.The pair of stories about Toledo’s death marks the first time Block Club Chicago has made an alternate version of a breaking news story to give readers the option of avoiding distressing content. A few hours after the stories were published on Thursday, the version with the graphic video had more page views (182,000 compared to 50,000 page views on the non-video version) but traffic to the non-video version was climbing as it was shared widely on social media.On Twitter, there were dozens of positive responses.Big thank you to for clarifying what content is and is NOT in their reporting on Adam Toledo. People of color don’t need to re-live our trauma every time we read/watch the news.— Charity Greene (@CharityNGreene)Thank you for coverage without the video. I’m glad to be a subscriber— Victoria H (@victoria7401)Thank you, Block Club, for producing a story without the video attached— Ambar Colón (@MeDicenAmbi)Sabella said the idea wasn’t inspired by another newsroom, but by the despair she has seen following other police violence. ( .)“I hadn’t seen this elsewhere, but have seen people in recent weeks — with all the police shootings across the country — express exhaustion, devastation and a sense of tremendous loss,” she said. “Being aware of that, and frankly feeling very down about the state of the world myself, it seemed like the right thing to do.”Block Club Chicago is reader-supported, with nearly 70% of its budget coming directly from readers through and Sabella said the newsroom’s “top priority” is serving the communities that they cover and that, given the response to their approach to their coverage of the Adam Toledo shooting, they’ll “continue to do this moving forward as well.”“When we hear from readers that they liked this option (which we have), we take that to heart. We in the media don’t always get it right, and especially when it comes to covering policing, have caused a lot of harm,” Sabella said. “The whole Block Club team is passionate about telling the stories of Chicago — the good and the bad — without causing further harm to communities that have been misrepresented in the media for decades.”“We are still learning and will keep trying to get it right,” she added.&nbsp;The only story on this I could click on.— Lauren Williams (@laurenwilliams)This story is devastating, but this is responsible, community-centered journalism to inform readers without forcing them to watch a graphic video that they may not want to see.— Joseph Lichterman (@ylichterman)This is excellent if you want to know what happens in the video without watching the video. Very good idea by— Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke)When a newsroom is aware of how media behaves and shows up, and its impact on communities—AND prioritizes reducing harm/trauma by allowing audiences to have control over their experiences online 👇👇👇— Julia B. Chan (@juliachanb)SHARE THIS STORY&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What’s the best way to follow how the news is changing?Our daily email, with all the freshest future-of-journalism news.MLAScire, Sarah. "Block Club Chicago offered two versions of the same breaking news story —&nbsp;with and without a horrifying video." Nieman Journalism Lab. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, 16 Apr. 2021. Web. 22 Apr. 2021.APAScire, S. (2021, Apr. 16). Block Club Chicago offered two versions of the same breaking news story —&nbsp;with and without a horrifying video. Nieman Journalism Lab. Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/04/block-club-chicago-offered-two-versions-of-the-same-breaking-news-story-with-and-without-a-horrifying-video/ChicagoScire, Sarah. "Block Club Chicago offered two versions of the same breaking news story —&nbsp;with and without a horrifying video." Nieman Journalism Lab. Last modified April 16, 2021. Accessed April 22, 2021. https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/04/block-club-chicago-offered-two-versions-of-the-same-breaking-news-story-with-and-without-a-horrifying-video/.Wikipedia{{cite web&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;| url = https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/04/block-club-chicago-offered-two-versions-of-the-same-breaking-news-story-with-and-without-a-horrifying-video/&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;| title = Block Club Chicago offered two versions of the same breaking news story —&nbsp;with and without a horrifying video&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;| last = Scire&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;| first = Sarah&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;| work = [[Nieman Journalism Lab]]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;| date = 16 April 2021&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;| accessdate = 22 April 2021&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;| ref = {{harvid|Scire|2021}}}}Join the 50,000 who get the freshest future-of-journalism news in our daily email.Help advance the Nieman Foundation’s mission “to promote and elevate the standards of journalism” .© 2021 by the President and Fellows of Harvard CollegeWalter Lippmann HouseOne Francis Ave.Cambridge, MA 02138617 495 2237The Nieman Journalism Lab is a collaborative attempt to figure out how quality journalism can survive and thrive in the Internet age.It’s a project of the .Follow usThe basicsProjectsDirectorStaff writers© President and Fellows of Harvard College, unless otherwise noted.

HOME&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;LATEST STORY&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;April 16, 2021, 7:49 a.m.Readers told the nonprofit local newsroom that they appreciated the option to read an article omitting graphic video and images of 13-year-old Adam Toledo’s death.Body camera footage showing a Chicago police officer fatally shooting 13-year-old Adam Toledo was released on Thursday. , co-founder and director of strategy of the local nonprofit newsroom , watched the video,...

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Block Club Chicago offered two versions of the same breaking news story — with and without a horrifying video

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