September 8, 2022

Top stories

■ Report: Local journalist's murder caught on video; led police to public official suspected of murder (KTNV) / 'DNA found under investigative journalist Jeff German’s fingernails matched a sample taken from Clark County Public Administrator Rob Telles, leading to his arrest Wednesday, a report obtained by the @8NewsNow Investigators confirms.’ (David Charns) / ‘The authorities have not recovered a murder weapon but said they had found a hat and shoes that matched those of a person seen in surveillance footage at the crime scene. Both had been cut in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence, the authorities said, and the shoes had blood on them.’ (New York Times) / Police arrest county official in reporter's stabbing death (Las Vegas Review-Journal) / ‘He was taken into custody with self-inflicted wounds’ (8 News Now) / "Killing a journalist never kills a story." After California journalist Chauncey Bailey was shot in 2007, dozens of journalists worked to investigate his murder & continue his reporting. Their statement on the killing of Las Vegas reporter Jeff German’ (Lois Beckett) / Las Vegas Review-Journal is mourning the death of their reporter—and investigating his killing (Vanity Fair) / ‘Every murder is tragic, but the killing of a journalist is particularly troublesome’ (NPR) 


■ Local reporter breaks down over live-streamed shootings: ‘Memphis is tired’ (Daily Beast)


■ ‘It was unlike any story I had done in nearly 15 years of journalism. The first thing that I felt was not that classic journalistic impulse of, ‘Oh man, this is a great story.’ The first thing I felt was, ‘Oh man, this is just a horrible tragedy’ (Axios)


■ ‘I really hope that we don’t both-sides democracy’: Where is CNN headed? (Vanity Fair) / The Biden-CNN rift: 'The White House has been frustrated by some of the network’s programming and talent decisions under new network chief Chris Licht, who continues to reign in the perceived anti-Trump zeal some people at the channel engaged in under his predecessor Jeff Zucker.' (POLITICO) / CNN ratings continue to tank as boss Chris Licht 'has work cut out for him’ (New York Post) 


■ Chris Cuomo opens up about mental health and drinking: 'I drink often and I definitely think it's not always for the right reason’ (Mediaite) 


■ Gayle King recalls embarrassing on-air gaffe she made as a 'baby reporter': 'I was mortified’ (People) 


■ Anne Garrels, fearless NPR correspondent, dies at 71 (New York Times) / 'Expelled by the Soviets for stories they didn't like, chronicler of the growing resentment from Iraqis of the American occupation; Anne Garrels obituary is a powerful example of the importance of foreign correspondence' (Nolan Hicks) / 'Anne Garrels knew fear. But she hurtled toward danger, insistent that the story was the important thing. A combination of enterprise and empathy.' (David Folkenflik) 


■ CNN anchor Bernard Shaw dead at 82 (CNN) / 'Heartbroken and devastated by this news...as straight-arrow a news reporter as there ever was, Bernie was my co-anchor at @CNN for 8 years, and a friend for the ages.’ (Judy Woodruff) / 'Bernard Shaw — CNN’s first chief anchor — was a former marine who was determined to be a journalist. Today, at 82 years old, he died. He is known for being part of first ever live-war reporting on the First Gulf war live from Baghdad in 1991.' (Kylie Atwood) / Reporters mourn for Bernard Shaw after CNN announces anchor's passing: 'A trailblazer and legend' (Mediaite) 


■ Covert plans, fake news: How the news of Queen Elizabeth’s death broke (Washington Post) / WATCH: White House learns the queen is dead in real time during briefing – smack in the middle of a Peter Doocy question (Mediaite) / WATCH: The moment British news networks announced Queen Elizabeth II's death (Mediaite) / British press mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II (Axios) / 'London Bridge is down': The secret plan for the days after the queen’s death; ‘The first official to deal with the news will be Sir Christopher Geidt, the Queen’s private secretary, a former diplomat who was given a second knighthood in 2014, in part for planning her succession.’ (The Guardian) / How National Geographic photographed Queen Elizabeth II (National Geographic, subscription required) 

 

Press freedom


■ Vice journalists raise concerns about potential deal with Saudi-backed firm: 'Some American media companies have backed away from doing deals with firms affiliated with Saudi Arabia after the journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed by government agents. Others, including Penske Media Corporation, have held onto investments from entities affiliated with the Saudi government.’ (New York Times) 


■ ’Egypt’s prosecutors have charged four journalists from one of the country’s few remaining independent news outlets of spreading false news and disturbing public peace’ (AP)


■ Israel’s handling of reporter’s death angers media outlets (AP via The Columbian)

Event called ‘Listen, World!’: Women’s voices in the news, then and now. Click for details.

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute on Tuesday, September 13 at 11:30 a.m. ET for a wide-ranging conversation, held on Zoom, about how women’s voices have been silenced and spotlighted in newsrooms and in the public square, and how we can ensure that journalism raises up a diversity of women’s perspectives in the future. 

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Keeping up with climate refugees displaced by climate disasters

By Joseph A. Davis


This is excerpted from a tipsheet produced by and republished with permission from the Society of Environmental Journalists


Some colleagues talk of environmental journalism as the “apocalypse beat.” Accurate or not, you can be pretty sure that more disasters are coming soon. Hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts will soon be at a seasonal peak, and there will be plenty to write about.


Why it matters


Climate change certainly can be blamed for a lot of the big disasters in recent decades. We are today living in a nation where the term “climate refugees” has more and more meaning. In just one example, many who left New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina never came back.


There’s no real point in quibbling about whether a particular hurricane was caused by global warming. Scientists know that higher sea-surface temperatures cause more intense hurricanes. Temperatures are higher at this time of year in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. And climate change is indeed warming the oceans. The odds of avoiding more intense hurricanes in the future are poor.


The wildfire situation is similar. Drought, heat, and winds — as well as people building structures in the urban-wildland interface — make wildfires worse. Right now, the western U.S. is in the middle of a historic megadrought. Climate change has a lot to do with it. The 2018 Camp Fire killed 85 people, destroyed some 18,000 structures, and pretty much wiped the town of Paradise, California, off the map.

 

The backstory


Insurance is supposed to help, but very often it doesn’t.


For instance, FEMA runs the National Flood Insurance Program, which is supposed to back up private insurance with government guarantees as long as communities take measures to keep people from building in the floodplain. But over the years, it has often worked poorly.


It’s partly a political problem. After a disaster, people often want to rebuild where they are — making them vulnerable to a repeat of the same disaster. Congress has not been able to reform the disaster relief programs to avoid incentivizing more disasters.


It’s easy enough to paint the inequity of disaster aid as an environmental justice problem. Look hard. Often the problem is fundamentally one of poverty.

 

Story ideas


  • Have there been any major disasters in your area in recent years? How is the recovery going?
  • What disasters are your community most likely to suffer? Of those that people don’t think likely, which ones are possible?
  • Are there state and local public policy actions that could reduce your area’s vulnerability to disaster or increase its resiliency? Zoning measures? Building codes?
  • What companies offer disaster insurance in your area? What will they cover? What does it cost? How many people have such insurance?
  • Is there effective evacuation planning in your area? Are there bottlenecks or barriers that would make evacuation difficult?
  • Who are the principal disaster-response agencies in your locality or state? Do you know their media contacts (if any)?

 

Reporting resources



Joseph A. Davis is a freelance writer/editor in Washington, D.C. who has been writing about the environment since 1976.


To excel at breaking news:


1. Plan for roles, responsibilities, and communication pathways now — not in the heat of the story. Great newsrooms have clear systems.


2. Report iteratively and accurately on all platforms, not just the one you were raised with.


3. While people swarm the developing story, start planning for tomorrow and beyond. 


Watch nextWhat are 3 things news leaders can do to upgrade their news report?


Jill Geisler is the Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity at Loyola University Chicago and Freedom Forum Fellow.


Get more career advice: Read Jill's columns | Watch Manager's Minute videos

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This newsletter is written & edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff: Beth Francesco, Holly Butcher Grant, and Julie Moos. Send us your questions and suggestions for topics to cover.

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