News and information to help journalists serve the public and stay safe.
April 17, 2020
Join two experienced newsroom editors on Friday, April 24 as they share their perspectives on leading newsrooms through unprecedented challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robyn Tomlin , southeast regional editor for McClatchy and president and editor of The (Raleigh) News & Observer and The (Durham) Herald-Sun, and  Mike Wilson , editor of The Dallas Morning News, will discuss how to handle the uncertainties journalists face and the ambitions that inspire us. 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.
The Covid-19 pandemic has put death and grief before all of us. Keith Woods, NPR’s Chief Diversity Officer, and Tom Huang, Dallas Morning News assistant managing editor for journalism initiatives, joined the National Press Club Journalism Institute for a conversation about “ Writing Through: Grieving Together, Alone . Both journalists have written about personal loss and decline in a time of collective grief.

Here are some of the insights they shared:
 
Writing about grief is confronting it

Huang : Grieving and writing for me are intertwined because I'm the kind of person who needs to write things down to discover things about myself and my emotions and how I relate to the people that I love.

Woods : The emotion is right there all the time. Writing doesn't relieve me of it, but it does give me a place to safely feel it. This is such a powerful feeling – grief -- that I think we are reluctant to write about it because in order to write about it you have to get all the way to feeling it. That scares the crap out of me every time.
 
It takes time to write about grief

Huang : What I found has helped me as a writer is to actually write short pieces and share them on Facebook with my friends. Step away from those dispatches, and then take some of that material and write essays that have been published over the last seven years. So again, the writing has helped me process the grief along the way.

Woods : I tell the story a lot before I write the story. That's generally how I do essays. And then the actual writing of it, I find that I have to sit down and read the emotions. I'm pretty clear on how I'm feeling when I'm feeling. I'm not having to discover that point. I think in a lot of ways, my challenge is to sort it all out and find words for it.
 
Details tell a larger story

Woods : In personal writing, people I think a lot of times think, ‘well, why would anybody be interested in the fact that I fed my mom applesauce and vanilla ice cream?’ And I think you really have to release that. You noticed it. It has a significance in that moment to you . Trust me to, as a reader, integrate into my own story.

Huang : Chip Scanlan I think once said the more specific details you use the more universal a piece can be . And it doesn't mean that you spew out 12 different details, but you decide the one or two that are really important to you.
 
It can be painful, but be honest

Huang : I made a decision early on, and it's a hard one, but that I would try to be as open about my family as I could… I just had to make a decision that to write about this honestly I would have to show really difficult moments and ugly moments … You have to take a leap of faith as a writer that you're going to do the right thing.

Woods : My approach in personal writing always has been, first, claim my story. You've intersected in my life in some kind of way, but it's always my story first… But when I've published pieces about family, as often as possible, I've sent it to family ahead of time…It's an accuracy check. Everybody understands the deal: If it's true and it hurts, then, it's still true. And I'm not reckless about that, I'm not cavalier about it.

You can watch video of the half-hour program here.
Our next Writing Through program will be April 29, from 11:30am-noon EDT, with columnist Connie Schultz and author Jon Mooallem talking about " Resilience, Storytelling & Community ."
“In their pursuit of a story, journalists often find themselves in stressful situations that take an emotional or mental toll,” reporter Cynthya Gluck writes in a recent column for The GroundTruth Project. 

Gluck interviewed Beyond Conflict neuroscience researcher Mike Niconchuk to find out the effects of covering COVID-19 on journalists’ mental health and what newsrooms can do to support reporters and editors.

To demonstrate how differently people respond to traumatic events, Niconchuk offered an example of two journalists he knew working in Beijing during the coronavirus lockdown. One performed music regularly and “posted about productivity on social media, the other is admittedly depressed living under the circumstances,” Gluck wrote.

“Both friends are showing signs of denial...Hyperproductivity and ‘hypoproductivity’ are equal coping mechanisms despite how they differ in societal acceptance.”

The “hyperproductivity high” is a trap lurking for journalists, doctors, photographers and others on the front lines.

“It is very easy to let that become an addiction and let it become a very damaging coping mechanism over time,” he said.

Read on to discover different ways our brains confront uncertainty, strategies to self-regulate and how editors can help alleviate stress. Subscribe to GroundTruth’s Navigator newsletter here .

(Illustration courtesy of Haya Halawah/Beyond Conflict)
Host a virtual gallery night
If your walls feel as if they are closing in on you, it might be time to rethink how you’re looking at them.

This weekend, consider hosting a virtual “gallery night” with a friend or family member: Change up your video chat by walking through your home, showing off artwork, photos, keepsakes, or other items you have displayed and sharing why they are important to you.

Art is in the   eye of the beholder , and you can learn a lot about yourself or a friend (and catch some inspiration) by perusing a collection. Whether your favorite pieces are carefully curated from art shows or proudly displayed masterpieces by your kids, everything has a story. Share them as a   way to connect , even in isolation.

Some things to think about:
  • Where did you find the piece? What drew you to it? 
  • What memory do you connect to a photo or keepsake? Why do you display it where it is? 
  • What themes come up in your collection? 

Thanks to Meda Kessler, editor of 360 West magazine in Fort Worth, Texas, for the inspiration for virtual gallery nights. 

Read on for more self-care tips, or share your own .
How well do you know the journalism books vying for the Sweet 16? 
Here are hints to six different books among the 32 titles still in our Book Brackets competition 
to become the best of all journalism titles.

The six clues:
  • A book periodically updated – sometimes subtly, sometimes to reflect changes in society
  • If it’s February in New Hampshire, that must be a Wild Turkey nestled into his lap
  • How Alvin Dewey became “the most famous Kansas lawman since Wyatt Earp”
  • Chapter 1 – “The Price of Being Poppy”
  • Classic line “…And I’d like a follow up”
  • Where PR stands for “Positive Reputation Management”

Go here to find the books and vote before Round 2 closes at midnight Monday.

We’ll post the answers in Monday’s newsletter.  
RESOURCES
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.

Get this from a friend? Subscribe , and view the archives .
SUPPORT THE INSTITUTE
The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement. Support our important work with a tax-deductible contribution today.