The Latest: Reporter runs for governor; Fox News Christmas tree fire arrest; COVID coverage timeline; Ode to middle managers

December 8, 2021

■ Georgia journalism professor says he quit over lack of COVID safety (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

■ Austin-based public radio reporter launches campaign for Texas governor (Austin American-Statesman)

■ Money Diary: A New York journalist ‘who makes $55,000 per year and spends some of her money this week on a chai latte.' (Refinery29)

■ Here's the business model behind the media bias chart that's gone viral (Morning Brew)

■ 'I’m sorry if this is your first time ever hearing of me or seeing me talk , but people don’t tend to walk away from my talks feeling uplifted,' New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones tells L.A. crowd (Hollywood Reporter)

■ How do viewers feel about broadcasters working from home ? They don't hate it , a study finds (Poynter)

■ US announces funds to support independent journalism and reporters targeted for their work (CNN)

■ Report for America adds 70 newsrooms , opens applications for more reporters (Report for America)

■ Voice of America, ProPublica among National Press Club Journalism Awards winners (National Press Club)

■ 'I cried when I told my writing students today that the man who had taught me to be a better writer had died.' (Poynter)

■ Claudia Levy, Washington Post journalist and advocate for women in the newsroom , dies at 77 (Washington Post)

Press freedom

■ FAC demands investigation , return of equipment after photojournalist arrested (First Amendment Coalition) / Press advocates warn of 'chilling effect ' after North Bay journalist arrested at Sausalito homeless encampment (San Francisco Chronicle) / Sausalito arrest of photojournalist stirs controversy (Marin Independent Journal)

■ ‘The Taliban tried to kill me’: Former Afghan journalist finds refuge in Rochester (News 8 WROC)

■ US journalist freed in Lebanon after call by rights groups (WFMZ)

■ French authorities release man held as suspect in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, citing an identity mix-up (Washington Post) / D.C. Council passes the Jamal Khashoggi Way Act (DAWN MENA) / Opinion: Naming the street by the Saudi Embassy for Khashoggi is fitting symbolism. We need policy to match . (Washington Post)

■ China is the world’s 'biggest captor of journalists ’ with 127 detained, report says (Washington Post)

■ National Press Club to host news conference with Debra Tice , Thursday at 9:30 (National Press Club)

Two years of COVID: How early media coverage evolved

This month marks the two-year anniversary of the first patient seeking medical attention in Wuhan for pneumonia-like symptoms. As reports of similar symptoms emerged, it took health officials more than one month to recognize that this was a new type of coronavirus.

However, in the early days, according to the NCBI, health officials were not particularly concerned. Little did they know that over the course of two years, the virus would surge to more than 267 million cases and 5 million deaths worldwide.

Early on in the pandemic, the Institute produced a timeline of COVID-19 landmarks in media headlines — from the first cluster of pneumonia cases reported in Wuhan (January 2020) to worldwide cases surpassing 1 million (April 2020). We illustrated the timeline with news website screenshots using Wayback Machine, with yellow highlights to visualize the coverage placement and prominence.

We started this project to determine how coronavirus coverage evolved over time and how news sources worldwide reported on COVID-19 milestones. The virus earned international headlines at the beginning of 2020. Then on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. Were these events the lead story or buried below the fold? How long did it take before pandemic headlines dominated the front page?

Click to revisit how coronavirus coverage evolved.

"Pick your words carefully. ... Ask yourself what the audience will take away from your piece if they were to read just the headline, a tweet, a short post on social media or just the first few paragraphs of the article. Is there a conclusion that you don’t want them to come up with?"

-- Naseem S. Miller, The Journalist’s Resource, "When public officials spread health misinformation, be quick to point it out"

Ode to the middle managers

Mid-level managers don’t run the organization. They don’t have the final say on the biggest decisions. Nevertheless, they can be the reason people go the extra mile or can’t wait to jump ship . That’s how much influence they have on the everyday experiences of employees.

If they’re smart and engaged, candid and empathetic, they earn trust and loyalty. If they’re distant and demanding, unaware or uninterested in the hopes, dreams or challenges of their team members, they’re morale-killers.

That’s why it’s important to send some love to the best of the bunch. At a time when every journalist is straining to keep up with a news cycle on steroids, mid-level managers are minding the workflow and those immersed in it. They’re keeping the quality high, the staff safe and sane, and the public served.

-- Jill Geisler, Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity at Loyola University Chicago and Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership

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

Resources

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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