News and information to help journalists serve the public and stay safe.
April 23, 2020
TOP STORIES
· Want to find a misinformed public? Facebook’s already done it (The Markup)
· What to do when mom believes coronavirus conspiracies (New York Times)
· Anchors take viewers behind the scenes of their home broadcasts (NY Post)
· An inspired photographer, a disrupted senior class, and 500 portraits that capture what they lost (Washington Post)
· Report for America surges during COVID crisis , fielding 225 reporters in local newsrooms (Report for America)
· The federal government doled out $350 billion in stimulus loans. Most local daily newspapers were left out . / The Poynter Institute granted federal loan to mitigate coronavirus-related business losses (Poynter)
As the largest news site covering tribes and Native people throughout the Americas, Indian Country Today is uniquely positioned to report on COVID-19’s impact in ways that mainstream media outlets are not. 

Indian Country Today editor Mark Trahant (pictured) offered insights in an email Q&A about the organization’s work, how it is reaching community members in quarantine, and a “sense that Indian Country has been through this before .”

How is Indian Country Today covering the coronavirus impact on indigenous communities?

Trahant : Pretty much all hands on deck. We started early with February stories about tribal epidemiology efforts and the impact of the 1918 flu on Indian Country . We publish an extensive syllabus that's updated twice a day that includes tracking numbers.
 
We also launched a new daily television show . After two weeks it's now been picked up by several PBS affiliated networks. 

What are some of the stories you are publishing that are not covered by mainstream media? Who else is doing it right?

Trahant : I have not had a lot of time to reach mainstream media. Some of the national stories, one in the NYT last week , have been quite good. Others fall into traps, such as getting overly romantic. 
 
We built our own tracking devices. The Indian Health Service only reports numbers reported to it or from its own facilities. We wanted better representation so have created a more comprehensive model. 
 
Read on to learn more about the role of journalism in times of crisis and the importance of representation.
Explore how truth-telling in tough times creates community, with syndicated columnist and author  Connie Schultz , and journalist and author  Jon Mooallem .  They will discuss their experiences in “ Resilience and Community ,” from 11:30 a.m. to noon Wednesday, April 29, on Zoom. 

Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association , has been sharing valuable tips on journalists’ legal rights related to covering the COVID-19 pandemic. We checked back with him on some other issues affecting journalists, from presidential campaign lawsuits to access to open records and meetings.

We are seeing city councils and other local and state governments putting their meetings on video for the public to see. But are journalists encountering limits on their ability to get information from elected officials and public servants? 

Osterreicher : While most state and local governments are complying with open records laws, there are still a number who have made it more difficult to get information regarding COVID-19.

In one of the more publicized cases , Florida officials denied pressuring attorneys to drop [a] planned public records lawsuit over unreleased coronavirus data. That case was then commenced by another firm and, a week later, Florida Gov. DeSantis released the names of elder care homes with coronavirus cases, which the state’s surgeon general had been refusing to do.

Iowa, on the other hand, is still denying the public access to some [of] its COVID-19 records and information. It appears Virginia is doing the same thing. The Columbia Journalism Review cites a lack of transparency by governments in making available information about tax incentives and money provided under the $2 trillion stimulus package. But such information is vital to help inform the public about such things as where to get a coronavirus test .

In late March, a reporter for the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times was barred from the Florida governor’s coronavirus press conference, and in Illinois, the governor’s press secretary announced that only one print pool reporter and one broadcast pool reporter will be allowed to attend the daily COVID-19 press briefings to ensure adherence to “social distancing guidelines.”

In response to these incidents, the RTDNA posted an update “calling on state and local authorities across the United States to be completely transparent with the public about the COVID-19, and to answer questions about it asked by journalists without unreasonable restrictions.”

In one bit of positive news, the U.S. Supreme Court announced “it would hold arguments remotely and, in an unprecedented move, make the live audio of those arguments available to the public.”

Read on to learn about drone laws, defamation lawsuits, and unemployment benefits for freelancers.
As Steve Jobs said , “It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

Sometimes, smart people disagree. Learn how to manage real conflicts in today’s virtual newsrooms , help build resilience in stressful times , and stay focused on purpose.

Advice from  Jill Geisler , Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity, Loyola University Chicago, Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership
Join editors Robyn Tomlin and  Mike Wilson tomorrow, April 24  as they share their perspectives on leading newsrooms through unprecedented challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation will be moderated by Jill Geisler , Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity and Loyola University Chicago Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership.

Registration is open.
Self-Care: Try these tips to ease eye strain
If your eyelids are drooping by 8 p.m. each day, you’re not alone. Screen fatigue brought on by nonstop video conferencing for work or during personal time is real, and the eye strain it causes can lead to headaches, tiredness and reduced productivity . Reports this week show things like your instinct to look at the speaker’s eyes and your conferencing settings also impact eye strain. 

Here are some eye-opening tips we’re trying: 
  • The “20-20-20” rule: every 20 minutes, take 20 seconds to look at something 20 feet away. 
  • Schedule gaps between work meetings. Five to 15 minutes gives you time to change location, take a walk, or process your last discussion. 
  • Switch from gallery view to speaker view. Doing so more closely mimics a conference room meeting, where you direct attention to the speaker. 
  • Eye yoga: Look to the left and hold, then do the same to the right. Look up, hold the position, and repeat while looking down. Close your eyes, then repeat several times. 
  • Allow time between work and your virtual happy hour or family gathering. 
  • Ask: Do we really need to meet? Will an old school phone call or note suffice? 

Leadership coach Jill Geisler shares more tips to keep teams tuned in when you’re Zoom’d out.

Read on for more self-care tips, or share your own .
RESOURCES
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This newsletter is written & edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff: Beth Francesco, Holly Butcher Grant, Jim Kuhnhenn, and Julie Moos. Send us your questions and suggestions for topics to cover.

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