Just one week ago, newsrooms mobilized to cover yet another mass shooting, this time in a municipal building in Virginia Beach. As they told the story of the 12 murders, the vast majority of newspapers and TV stations covering the tragedy embraced the practice of not using the shooter’s name unless it was absolutely necessary. For an industry that is often criticized for being slow to change, this development is remarkable. It demonstrates that newsrooms can alter their standards and practices in a fairly dramatic way over a relatively short period of time when presented with convincing...…Just one week ago, newsrooms mobilized to cover yet another mass shooting, this time in a municipal building in Virginia Beach. As they told the story of the 12 murders, the vast majority of newspapers and TV stations covering the tragedy embraced the practice of not using the shooter’s name unless it was absolutely necessary. For an industry that is often criticized for being slow to change, this development is remarkable. It demonstrates that newsrooms can alter their standards and practices in a fairly dramatic way over a relatively short period of time when presented with convincing...WW…

On the morning after the 2016 presidential election, many opinion pollsters and pundits picked at their scrambled eggs with egg on their faces. Somehow, Donald Trump had upset Hillary Clinton, the favored candidate in their polls. Journalists who provided misleading reporting to the public should have been eating humble pie. Before this year’s Nov. 3 elections, we’ll be inundated again with polls and punditry. With national and state polls proliferating, we risk drowning in bad data, said Tom Rosenstiel, executive director of the American Press Institute. Journalists shouldn’t make matters...…On the morning after the 2016 presidential election, many opinion pollsters and pundits picked at their scrambled eggs with egg on their faces. Somehow, Donald Trump had upset Hillary Clinton, the favored candidate in their polls. Journalists who provided misleading reporting to the public should have been eating humble pie. Before this year’s Nov. 3 elections, we’ll be inundated again with polls and punditry. With national and state polls proliferating, we risk drowning in bad data, said Tom Rosenstiel, executive director of the American Press Institute. Journalists shouldn’t make matters...WW…

By Daniel Funke and Daniela Flamini BRUSSELS — In mid-March 2018, a European Commission high-level group published  on misinformation, drawing upon the input of experts from around the world who gathered over several weeks to help the European Union figure out what to do about misinformation. The report created by the high-level group —  in November 2017 to help the EU craft policies to address  about misinformation in Europe — contains an  to addressing misinformation around the world (Disclosure: Poynter attended the meetings as one of the experts). The report,...…By Daniel Funke and Daniela Flamini BRUSSELS — In mid-March 2018, a European Commission high-level group published  on misinformation, drawing upon the input of experts from around the world who gathered over several weeks to help the European Union figure out what to do about misinformation. The report created by the high-level group —  in November 2017 to help the EU craft policies to address  about misinformation in Europe — contains an  to addressing misinformation around the world (Disclosure: Poynter attended the meetings as one of the experts). The report,...WW…

is a daily Poynter briefing of story ideas about the coronavirus and other timely topics for journalists, written by senior faculty Al Tompkins. Sign up to have it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. From the beginning of this column, we have said we would help you with the coverage of the pandemic and would also include some help for how you cover other difficult and sensitive stories. Today is such a day. Protests overnight demanded the officers be criminally charged in Breonna Taylor’s death. Some want it to be easier to charge and sue officers who use undue...…is a daily Poynter briefing of story ideas about the coronavirus and other timely topics for journalists, written by senior faculty Al Tompkins. Sign up to have it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. From the beginning of this column, we have said we would help you with the coverage of the pandemic and would also include some help for how you cover other difficult and sensitive stories. Today is such a day. Protests overnight demanded the officers be criminally charged in Breonna Taylor’s death. Some want it to be easier to charge and sue officers who use undue...WW…

Reporters covering President Donald Trump’s visit to a Honeywell plant in Arizona on Tuesday faced nasty words from a small group of his supporters. , Arizona Republic reporter BrieAnna J. Frank reported and posted videos of people mocking reporters for wearing masks and saying such things as, “You’re on the wrong side of history. … You’re on the wrong side of patriotism — you’re like communists.” In an email interview, Frank told me, “It was disturbing to see so many people be so visibly angered by my (and others’) personal decision to wear a mask. Clearly, wearing a mask is interpreted in...…Reporters covering President Donald Trump’s visit to a Honeywell plant in Arizona on Tuesday faced nasty words from a small group of his supporters. , Arizona Republic reporter BrieAnna J. Frank reported and posted videos of people mocking reporters for wearing masks and saying such things as, “You’re on the wrong side of history. … You’re on the wrong side of patriotism — you’re like communists.” In an email interview, Frank told me, “It was disturbing to see so many people be so visibly angered by my (and others’) personal decision to wear a mask. Clearly, wearing a mask is interpreted in...WW…

Did Advance Local, owners of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com, set out to bust the union? If so, the plan worked. on Tuesday, the Plain Dealer News Guild wrote, “After more than 80 years of union membership, Plain Dealer journalists will no longer be represented by Local 1. The unit will be dissolved effective May 17. The PD newsroom will no longer exist.” The union said that The Plain Dealer will lay off the four remaining reporters on May 15 and then offer them jobs at Cleveland.com. Thus comes the sad, but not unexpected end of an era as Advance shifts all of its coverage...…Did Advance Local, owners of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com, set out to bust the union? If so, the plan worked. on Tuesday, the Plain Dealer News Guild wrote, “After more than 80 years of union membership, Plain Dealer journalists will no longer be represented by Local 1. The unit will be dissolved effective May 17. The PD newsroom will no longer exist.” The union said that The Plain Dealer will lay off the four remaining reporters on May 15 and then offer them jobs at Cleveland.com. Thus comes the sad, but not unexpected end of an era as Advance shifts all of its coverage...WW…

The Poynter Report is our daily media newsletter. To have it delivered to your inbox Monday-Friday, click . Ahmaud Arbery was killed on Feb. 23, shot while jogging through a neighborhood outside of Brunswick, Georgia. Two men — a 64-year-old man and his 34-year-old son — were arrested just last week after a video of the shooting surfaced. Even during this time of overwhelming coronavirus coverage, this story has gripped the nation — a black man minding his own business chased and gunned down in the street in broad daylight by two white men who assumed he was a criminal. But the story...…The Poynter Report is our daily media newsletter. To have it delivered to your inbox Monday-Friday, click . Ahmaud Arbery was killed on Feb. 23, shot while jogging through a neighborhood outside of Brunswick, Georgia. Two men — a 64-year-old man and his 34-year-old son — were arrested just last week after a video of the shooting surfaced. Even during this time of overwhelming coronavirus coverage, this story has gripped the nation — a black man minding his own business chased and gunned down in the street in broad daylight by two white men who assumed he was a criminal. But the story...WW…

What if your boss told you that you weren’t allowed to vote? If you’re a journalist, it’s not unheard of for your manager to rule out this basic civic right. A core journalistic value is objectivity, and voting in a primary that involves publicly declaring yourself a D or an R compromises the public perception of a journalist’s neutrality. Every four years the journalism profession has this argument. As primary season barrels toward us, these disagreements are heating up among journalists who advocate for participating, even if there is a public record of affiliation, and those who believe...…What if your boss told you that you weren’t allowed to vote? If you’re a journalist, it’s not unheard of for your manager to rule out this basic civic right. A core journalistic value is objectivity, and voting in a primary that involves publicly declaring yourself a D or an R compromises the public perception of a journalist’s neutrality. Every four years the journalism profession has this argument. As primary season barrels toward us, these disagreements are heating up among journalists who advocate for participating, even if there is a public record of affiliation, and those who believe...WW…

It’s been a month. In the days since the election, a number of articles have been written about the lessons journalists can take from the presidential campaign. Pieces have also focused on what journalists should or must do over the next few months. CJR staff writer David Uberti three days after the election: It feels as if we’ve collectively aged years over the past three days, as a cascade of takes on what the hell journalism got wrong has distracted the press from the important work of figuring out how to cover a potentially dangerous Trump presidency. We’ve done what we do best: made...…It’s been a month. In the days since the election, a number of articles have been written about the lessons journalists can take from the presidential campaign. Pieces have also focused on what journalists should or must do over the next few months. CJR staff writer David Uberti three days after the election: It feels as if we’ve collectively aged years over the past three days, as a cascade of takes on what the hell journalism got wrong has distracted the press from the important work of figuring out how to cover a potentially dangerous Trump presidency. We’ve done what we do best: made...WW…

The winners and finalists of the Pulitzer Prizes show the impact of major breaking news, including , and ; the work that leads to change, including , the and ; and the topics that drive policy and politics, including and . This year, coverage of climate change fell into each of those buckets. It looks like the first time in at least the last 10 years (which is as far back as we checked), that climate change itself has been a topic of the work of winners and finalists. Staff of The Washington Post for “or a groundbreaking series that showed with scientific clarity the dire effects of extreme...…The winners and finalists of the Pulitzer Prizes show the impact of major breaking news, including , and ; the work that leads to change, including , the and ; and the topics that drive policy and politics, including and . This year, coverage of climate change fell into each of those buckets. It looks like the first time in at least the last 10 years (which is as far back as we checked), that climate change itself has been a topic of the work of winners and finalists. Staff of The Washington Post for “or a groundbreaking series that showed with scientific clarity the dire effects of extreme...WW…