News and information that journalists need to serve the public and stay safe.
April 7, 2020
Newsroom cuts hit midcareer journalists hardest before coronavirus
Even before the coronavirus hit news organizations with illness, and new rounds of furloughs, layoffs and lost revenue, America’s newsrooms had been shedding employees precipitously. A new analysis of American Community Survey data by the Pew Research Center shows how dire the picture had become between 2008 and 2018.

During that 10-year period, the greatest losses were among mid-career employees between the ages of 35 to 54, whose numbers dropped 42 percent, from 52,900 to 30,800. Overall newsroom employment during this period, the most recent time frame with available data, dropped by a quarter.

White journalists made up about 74% of American newsroom staffs in 2018, far higher than the 60.4% they represent in the U.S. population as a whole . This discrepancy underscores why newsroom diversity remains a concern. The Pew analysis found “the share of newsroom employees of other races and ethnicities increased to 26%, up from 20% in 2008.” That increase, however, was because the number of white newsroom employees fell by 28% from 2008 to 2018.

It’s not yet clear how many hundreds or thousands of journalism jobs will be lost as a result of the coronavirus consequences. At least 300 people had lost jobs in local U.S. newsrooms in March alone, CNN Business reported . A record 3.3 million Americans have filed for unemployment
For about two hours every day, the White House coronavirus task force, led by President Trump, briefs reporters and a national audience about the latest developments in the federal response to the pandemic. The briefings can be lengthy and often stray beyond the immediate topic of the outbreak. A week ago, CBS News launched Debriefing the Briefing , a short-form daily podcast with Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett , that concentrates on the main news topics from the briefing.

Think of it like condensing a three-hour NFL football game into the 14 minutes of actual football action .

The podcast is another example of how news organizations are thinking creatively, quickly and throwing talent and smarts at the coronavirus to explain the disease — its impact on health, on the economy and on our daily lives. We wanted to know the backstory on Garrett’s new effort. He emailed us responses to our questions.
 
How did this podcast come about? What's your intended audience, and what was the timeframe from conception to soft launch? 
 
Garrett : The team that helps me on “The Takeout” podcast — my chief producer, Arden Farhi, and radio producer Jamie Benson — thought there might be an appetite among radio stations for a summary or distillation of the daily White House coronavirus task force briefing. I agreed. We had a hunch. It was valid. Stations want to give their audiences what radio always has — concise and factual information. “Debriefing the Briefing” is our attempt to do that. When a briefing runs 1 hour and 45 minutes or 2 hours and 15 minutes, it is almost impossible for the typical news consumer to separate the wheat from the chaff. We try to isolate the biggest developments and offer perspective, reporting, and science from CBS correspondents and medical professionals or related subject experts. We give a 6-minute show to radio stations and then produce a 12-minute show for the podcast. We went from concept to pilot episode in 18 hours. We began serious content and editorial discussions the afternoon of March 31 and recorded our pilot after the April 1 White House briefing. 
 
Read on to learn about the collaborative process behind the podcast, working amid tragedy, and dealing with the wandering, sometimes hostile nature of the briefing.
On Friday, we shared strategies for writing a compelling policy story in the era of coronavirus from The New York Times investigative reporter Sarah Kliff . Among her suggestions: Telling a personal narrative, because individuals can powerfully show the consequences of policymaking. This will stick with readers more than just numbers.

But where, and how, do you uncover the right sources? Today, we bring you her insights for finding the narratives that resonate.

  • Use social media to crowdsource. Post your question on Twitter and join relevant Facebook groups. Make sure to tag industry experts or other health reporters with big followings. Here’s an example Kliff posted on Twitter.
  • Use your stories to seek out more sources. Add a quick note under your byline that you are looking for people to submit further information or personal anecdotes on a certain topic. Be sure to include your e-mail address. Here’s an example from ProPublica that Kliff provided during our “Covering Policy for the Public” writing workshop earlier this year.
  • Connect with advocacy groups that work on the issue you want to cover. While advocates can provide valuable information, be aware that they may have an agenda.
  • Ask for help from your newsroom to share your request on social media. Create a form where individuals can submit their experiences, and include links to the form in relevant stories.
  • Have a clear idea of what you want to ask your sources (and keep in mind our top 10 tips for email interviews). Kliff gave an example of a vague callout she used at the end of her “The case of the $629 Band-Aid — and what it reveals about American health care” article: “Have you faced a medical bill like this? Tell us about it. E-mail your story to Sarah Kliff here.” That prompt solicited thousands of responses, she said, and it would have been much more helpful to narrow down the parameters with a Google form.  
Brackets are now open and accepting predictions. Make your picks by midnight, April 8.
Self-Care: What to swap in when you don’t have gym equipment
Marangeli Lopez says two things are essential to a successful workout at home: music and plenty of space to move and jump around. “Make sure you have a decent playlist that’s going to keep you going,” said the WTEN digital producer, who has converted her usual bootcamp workout at the gym for one at home. 

She shared equipment swaps to consider: 

No weights? Grab laundry detergent (they have handles and are usually heavy), heavy water bottles, or a large pot to use for squats, lunges, curls and more. 

No medicine ball? Use a pillow and slam it as hard as you can. “It’ll help because you’ll still be able to perform the move with correct form,” she said. And, bonus: “Slamming an object — that usually helps with stress relief.” 


Read on for more self-care tips, or share your own .
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.

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