The New England Newspaper Hall of Fame recognizes the most outstanding newspaper professionals from throughout our six-state region.
Nominees should be people who have made extraordinary contributions to their newspaper(s), the newspaper industry and their communities. NENPA membership is not required to be eligible for the award.
People who have excelled in any area of newspaper operations are eligible — i.e., editorial, advertising, circulation, production, administration.
You may nominate those still working in the industry as well as those who have retired. Posthumous nominations are also eligible.
To nominate a colleague in honor of his or her professional achievement and lifetime of contributions, please prepare a letter that describes your nominee’s accomplishments and the reasons why you recommend that he/she should be appointed to the Hall of Fame. Be sure to include any supplemental materials, testimonials, etc. that support your nomination.
Send your nomination to:
New England Newspaper Hall of Fame c/o New England Newspaper & Press Association 1 Arrow Drive, Suite 6 Woburn, MA 01801
The deadline to have your nominee considered for induction at the upcoming NENPA Convention is January 4, 2019.
For further information, please contact NENPA executive director, Linda Conway, at (781) 281-7648, or l.conway@nenpa.com.
Kevin Slimp is director of the Institute of Newspaper Technology. Email questions to him at kevin@kevinslimp.com.
Have we ever experienced a time like this in the news business?
I’ve been noticing a couple of patterns lately, and I wonder if you have been, too.
More for fun than anything, and to keep up with as much as possible in the newspaper business, I created stateofnewspapers.com a few months back. A quick check at the unique visitor stats indicate many of you have been to the site.
To keep relevant content on the site, I try to spend a few hours each week researching the latest happenings related to newspapers, then share what I think is most interesting with visitors. I can’t include all the information I come across.
I’d have to quit my “day job” to do that, but there is a lot going on in the newspaper world and sometimes it’s hard to understand why, as well as how, it is taking place simultaneously.
For instance, over the past few months several community papers across the country closed their doors. But at the same time, new newspapers have been popping up, often in the same towns where previous papers had just closed. It seems that most of the shuttered papers are part of large groups, while most of the new papers are independently owned.
Newspapers are closing and opening at the same time. To those uneducated in the history of newspapers, that would seem mighty unusual.
Community papers aren’t the only ones on contrasting paths. College newspapers were making news over the past two or three years for shutting down their print editions, trimming staffs, and de-emphasizing their roles on campus. Yet over the past few months, there seems to be a renaissance in the collegiate press, with campus papers re-emphasizing the importance of the printed word.
As I research collegiate media, hardly a week goes by that I don’t find one or more editorials, sometimes even front page stories, in college newspapers about the importance of print journalism.
Colleges and universities de-emphasizing print journalism and re-emphasizing it at the same time. That’s a head-scratcher, for sure.
If that’s not enough confusion for one day, how about the latest trend at schools of journalism across the U.S. It seems record numbers of entering freshmen (and grad students as well) are declaring journalism as their majors.
Reading a story on that subject just today in The Washington Post brought to mind all the students who have told me they were changing their majors to journalism over the past year or so. I ran into just such a student in downtown Knoxville just a few weeks ago. She was working behind the desk at the Knoxville Visitors Center and we began talking about her education. You guessed it. She had recently transferred to the University of Tennessee, where I sometimes teach, and had changed her major to journalism.
Then, there is my son’s best friend, Camruin. I like Camruin. He’s a nice guy and a great board game player, who majors in computer engineering at the University.
I suppose I should have written “majored.” Yes, you guessed it. Camruin showed up at my home for a game of Risk recently with big news to share. He had changed his major to journalism.
Many might think Camruin’s game play isn’t the only risky move he is making, but his increased enthusiasm about school has been apparent since beginning his first semester as a journalism student in September.
At a time when many universities see journalism as archaic, students are flocking in record numbers to schools of journalism. It’s confusing to say the least.
Then, there’s my work. Many of you know I had planned to reduce my workload in the newspaper industry this year to focus on publishing books, something that is taking up a lot of my time. One of the factors that induced me to make that decision was the decreasing number of attendees at conventions and conferences over the past few years. Other speakers were telling me they just weren’t getting invites like they used to, and I was seeing fewer conferences bringing in outside experts to speak.
It just made sense to create a backup plan. Then a funny thing happened. My inbox began filling with requests to speak at conventions. In one six-day period in September, I accepted invitations to speak at five conventions.
Apparently I just thought conventions were drifting away.
It seems unusual to me. Just when I’m beginning to believe conventions are becoming unimportant to newspapers, I start hearing from them – a lot of them – again. I’ve also seen an upswing in the number of requests I receive from community papers to provide on-site training and consulting. Again, it’s confusing.
There is more going on in our industry than I remember at any time in my 25 years as an “expert.” Sure, papers are closing. But we all knew groups couldn’t keep buying papers forever, cutting content, and expect to magically stick around.
At the same time, independent publishers are opening new papers. It’s too early to know how their fortunes will turn out, but I suppose that’s always been the case with newspapers.
Almost 19 years ago, we lived through Y2k. This year, we survived the tariff scare. It’s always something. I suppose that’s why we need journalists…and newspapers.
A New England native and veteran publisher of independently-owned newspapers has been named Chief Operating Officer of Union Leader Corp.
James Normandin will begin his new job on July 1. The position is a new one, overseeing the news company’s advertising as well as its general operations. The announcement was made by Union Leader president and publisher Joseph W. McQuaid.
“Our company and our statewide readers and advertisers are very fortunate that we are able to bring Jim’s talents and work ethic to us at an important time for the news and information business,” McQuaid said. “As were William and Nackey Loeb, Jim is a believer in and advocate for independently-owned news media.”
Normandin, 55, has been publisher of the Worcester, Mass., Telegram and Gazette since last year. Before that, he served as publisher and vice president of Woodward Communications, Inc., which publishes the Dubuque, Iowa, Telegraph Herald, the Woodward Media Group (including five weeklies), and Woodward Printing Services. While in Iowa, he launched several successful digital and niche products.
He began his career in his native Massachusetts as advertising director for the Middlesex News. He has also worked as a publisher for Pulitzer Community Publishing and served as group publisher for the Journal Register Company in New Haven.
“As a true New Englander, and a passionate independent newspaper executive, I am excited and honored to join the Union Leader Corporation team,” Normandin said. “Its mission as an independent newspaper in today’s evolving media environment requires a unique commitment and one that I believe strongly in: a commitment that aligns keenly with my core values and underscores the legacy of the Union Leader.”
Like McQuaid, Normandin is a past president of the Independent Newspaper Group. Union Leader Corp. is independently owned with the majority of its voting stock held by the non-profit Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications, Inc.
In addition to his COO duties, Normandin will oversee advertising at the Union Leader and Sunday News, UnionLeader.com, and Neighborhood Newspapers. He will be relocating to New Hampshire this summer.
Normandin has served on numerous industry related, educational, private and public foundations, boards and associations during his career. Most recently he served as Chairman of Two by Two Character Education and Development and Director of the Woodward Foundation.
He is a native of Leominster Mass., a 1978 Graduate of Leominster High School and was a recipient of a baseball and football scholarship to University of Connecticut. He is a 1991 graduate of SPPI in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and returned to UCONN in 1996 to study business.
Sponsored Content Panelists & Moderator
Terry Williams (Moderator)
Terry worked for almost 19 years as president and publisher of Telegraph Publishing Co., the publisher of The (Nashua) Telegraph and nashuatelegraph.com and following that company’s recently completed sale to Ogden Newspapers group of West Virginia.
Williams began his news career as a reporter and editor for Foster’s Daily Democrat of Dover and The (Lowell, Mass.) Sun before moving in 1988 to The Telegraph and becoming publisher in 1994. During his time as publisher, Telegraph Publishing expanded aggressively into online and other digital publishing and also acquired or launched several magazines, weeklies and other publications, including New Hampshire Magazine, NH.com and The (Milford) Cabinet. The Manchester-based magazine group was purchased in December by Yankee Publishing Inc. of Dublin.
Active in industry and local organizations during his years in Nashua, Williams has served as president of that area’s Big Brothers Big Sisters organization and as chairman of the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce. He is immediate past president of the New England Newspaper and Press Association, an officer of the New England First Amendment Coalition and a member of the publisher’s advisory board for the Washington, D.C.-based Stars & Stripes armed forces newspaper.
Ernesto Burden
Ernesto Burden is a father and Vice President Digital for Newspapers of New England (NNE). He’s been a group publisher at PennWell, vice president of digital media for The Telegraph and NH.com and related sites, as well as digital media director for the Rutland Herald and Times Argus newspapers in Vermont, online editor for The Telegraph and NH.com, and a print editor and reporter with daily and weekly newspapers. He is also a writer, marathon runner, guitarist, and an avid student of the Web, technology, literature, the Catholic faith, and the Spanish language.
Lynn Santa Lucia
Lynn Santa Lucia is director of content at BG BrandLab content studio at the Boston Globe which specializes in business-to-consumer content strategy and execution, with a focus on storytelling for impact.
Fake News and Misinformation Panelists
Paul Pronovost
Paul Pronovost is the Executive Editor of the Cape Cod Media Group, responsible for all content in the Cape Cod Times, CapeCodTimes.com, CapeCodOnline.com and PrimeTime Cape Cod. He also oversees The Cape Codder, Provincetown Banner, The (Dennis-Yarmouth) Register, Sandwich Broadsider, Bourne Courier and The (Mashpee-Falmouth) Bulletin.
The Cape Cod Times has been New England’s Newspaper of the Year 10 of the past 13 years and Cape Cod Media Group’s print and digital products have received several top prizes in regional competitions, including the Thomas K. Brindley Public Service Award, the Morley L. Piper First Amendment Award and Editor & Pubilsher’s prestigious EPPY Award. In 2016, the Times was named national Newspaper of the Year and Pronovost was named Editor of the Year by GateHouse Media Inc., the Times’ parent company, which owns more than 200 daily newspapers across the country.
Before coming to the Cape in 2000, Pronovost worked at several weekly and daily newspapers in Greater Boston, including the Dover-Sherborn Suburban Press and the Medfield Suburban Press. He was the Metro Editor and Managing Editor at the Cape Cod Times before his current role.
An enthusiastic believer in the future of media, Paul has been a champion of several efforts to evolve in the digital age, including the Dow Jones “Future of Content” project and GateHouse Media’s “Digital Next” project.
Paul holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Saint Anselm College and a Masters in Public Administration from Suffolk University. He was a Pulitzer Prize juror in 2009 and 2010, and is past president of the Massachusetts Press Association. He has been involved in many community leadership endeavors, including the Salvation Army, Community Leadership Institute and Cape Cod Young Professionals. He also has coached for many years with the Barnstable Youth Soccer Association and has led a Destination Imagination team with the Barnstable Public Schools’ Gateway program.
Paul grew up in Medfield and now lives in Cotuit with his wife, Patricia. The couple have two daughters: Leslie, a nursing student at Simmons College, and Marguerite, a freshman at Barnstable High School.
Peter Huoppi
Peter Huoppi is director of multimedia at The Day. Over the past 11 years in New London his work has ranged from solo short-form video stories to producing and directing live multi-camera webcasts of high school sports. Most recently he served as producer and editor on the podcast series Case Unsolved, and was The Day’s newsroom liaison for the Trusting News project, which aims to help journalists earn the trust of news consumers. His work has earned first place awards in the NPPA Best of Photojournalism contest and the Eppy Awards, as well as two New England Emmys. Prior to The Day, Peter was a staff photographer at The Burlington Free Press. He is a graduate of Middlebury College and is writing his master’s thesis for the University of Missouri.
Aimee Rinehart
Aimee Rinehart manages training and international projects at the Information Disorder Project at the Shorenstein Center at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. The ID Project fights misinformation by creating experimental journalism projects, undertaking research on those projects, and using research results to build resources and training for journalists and the wider public. She has worked online since 1996 for newspapers, magazines and nonprofits and was a digital founder at nytimes.com.
Media and First Amendment lawyer by profession, and still a reporter at heart. I help writers, editors, bloggers, and media and other companies convey their message to the public while minimizing the risk of liability for defamation, invasion of privacy, and copyright and trademark infringement. On a typical day I may be drafting a social media policy, fighting in court for access to public records, training reporters about legal risks, vetting anything from a newspaper article to a documentary film, or defending a website against a libel claim.
Emily Sweeney (Moderator)
Emily Sweeney is a journalist at The Boston Globe and author of the books Boston Organized Crime, Gangland Boston, and the forthcoming title The Legend of Dropkick Murphy. She has been a staff writer at the Globe since 2001, and currently serves on the board of the New England First Amendment Coalition and the New England Society of News Editors.
Tom Zuppa
Tom Zuppa is managing editor/days for The Sun of Lowell and Nashoba Valley Voice. He leads Digital First Media’s Lowell cluster efforts on public records and First Amendment issues.
Todd Feathers
Todd Feathers is a general assignment reporter for the New Hampshire Union Leader. He previously worked at the Lowell Sun and MuckRock, a nonprofit that assists journalists, activists and anybody else interested in public records with their requests.
MNPA Panelists- Anonymous Sources: Law, Policies and Practices
Peter J. Caruso, Esq.
Atty. Peter J. Caruso, Sr. has counseled over 3,000 family and business clients in real estate, estate planning, asset protection, corporation issues, land development, personal injury settlements, family and business disputes. Representing newspapers, lending institutions, family businesses, corporations in transactions and litigation in all courts.
Atty. Caruso has represented media organizations throughout New England including, NENA, NEPA, NCAMA, is involved with newspaper access issues, advertising acceptance practices and news reporting. Atty. Caruso has represented the media in the Willie Horton case, Pamela Smart case, Alan Eagleson case, and many investigative series.
Wayne Phaneuf
From reporter to editor, from historian to historical writer, his broad experiences are demonstrative of someone who has taken his personal growth and experiences as a journalist to guide at least two generations of new journalists into careers of serving their readers. As a historian, he works steadfastly to ensure today’s readers are able to put the news events of their lives in perspective of the past.
Mike Bello
Mike Bello has been deputy city editor at the Boston Globe since 2005, overseeing spot and crime news coverage for the metro section of the newspaper. Bello has also worked at the Boston Herald, serving as copy editor, Sunday city editor and executive city editor during an 18-year career at the newspaper. He also worked at WBZ-TV as chief assignment editor from 1991-93.
Bart Pfankuch is an investigative reporter for South Dakota News Watch, online at sdnewswatch.org. Write to him at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org
More art than science. More craft than vocation. More a calling than a profession.
All these statements are true about our chosen field of journalism. Taken together, they shine a light on the maddening beauty of reporting and writing — the fact that one can become good, even great, at journalism but never master it.
Once a journalist understands that perfection is unattainable, and mastery only a mystery, it stands to reason that we should all embark on a career of constant discovery and realize that our education never ends.
This is important for journalists both young and old. The young-uns should heed the advice of elders (and their fellow newbies who are showing promise or trying new techniques), model best practices of more seasoned veterans, and certainly read, read, read the work of others to pilfer practices they use successfully.
However, it is critical also for veterans to keep eyes and ears open to learning new methods and relearning approaches perhaps forgotten.
The best journalists are lifelong learners, and they understand there’s no shame in admitting you don’t know it all, and that there is value in accepting advice given by colleagues at any level, including those younger or less experienced.
Even after nearly 30 years in the business, I am frequently humbled in the best way possible by the realization that I still have a long road to hoe in order to do my best work either in the field or at the keyboard.
I still remember lessons taught years ago by mentors who likely did not even realize they were mentoring. There was the editor who told me that when one wishes for a certain outcome that they have “druthers” and not “rathers” as I had quoted a folksy source. I have never forgotten the moment that Dave Zweifel, an elder statesman editor in Madison, Wisc., nonchalantly dropped a scrap of paper on my lap with the word “sheriff” written on it. I was 21, and from that day forward, I never again misspelled that word that to this day still looks odd to my eye.
Lately, as I have moved out of the editing chair and back into the role of reporter and writer, I still receive advice and input that helps me sharpen my game. Just the other day, a very seasoned colleague reminded me that “a period is a writer’s best friend.” As I considered his words, I realized that he was right – I was packing too much into some sentences and inadvertently diluting the meaning of passages crammed full of data and ideas that sounded right to me but became garbled when read aloud.
Just as those of us who are more experienced in newsgathering or storytelling should be willing to share our techniques and tactics with the next generation of journalists, we old dogs must also be open to accepting input from those with fresh minds and a better understanding of the reach of new media and information outlets.
The biggest impediments to accepting and absorbing constructive criticism are ego and attitude. More than once as an editor or writing coach I have provided colleagues or students with a tip or a suggestion: don’t over alliterate; rely mainly on verb-subject-object form; use details to add meaning and not distract; capture scenes and characters but don’t lose sight of the news; make the stylebook your friend to add credibility to your work.
I accept rebuff a time or two, as I know it is not always easy to receive advice and I know there were times years ago when I too thought I had the tiger by its tail. However, it won’t be long before I or others who provide constructive criticism give up and go silent. That makes it incumbent on all of us to keep our minds open and receive advice with grace.
In presentations on writing and reporting, I urge reporters to seek knowledge or story ideas from wherever or whomever they can. I tell of the time an ad salesperson alerted me to a new industry coming to town that would employ hundreds and whose arrival generated for me numerous front-page stories. I share with them the time a news assistant told me about white rats that escaped from a pet store, bred like rabbits and then infested her neighborhood (if ever there was a fun front-page reader, that was it!) I remind them of how I learned of a clothesline bandit in a small town after stopping for a soda and chatting up the store clerk.
Whether accepting story ideas or tips on how to improve copy and strengthen stories, we must all keep our eyes, ears and minds open for there is so much to learn and only one lifetime to learn it.
Ed Henninger is an independent newspaper consultant and the director of Henninger Consulting. WANT A FREE evaluation of your newspaper’s design? Email edh@henningerconsulting.com or call (803) 327-3322 IF THIS COLUMN has been helpful, you might be interested in Ed’s books: “Henninger on Design” and “101 Henninger Helpful Hints.” With the help of Ed’s books, you’ll immediately have a better idea how to design for your readers. Find out more about “Henninger on Design” and “101 Henninger Helpful Hints” by visiting Ed’s website: www.henningerconsulting.com
I’m a friendly guy. Most people who know me genuinely like me…and I like them..
I can be a strong friend. I can stand by you when you need me to. I can help you when you’ve got a problem. I can just be there by your side when you need support.
But…I can also choose to not be your friend if I think it matters.
So, let me get this out there briefly and clearly: I am not a friend of writers…or designers.
I am not here to be your friend.
I am here to remind you that it is your job to be a friend to the reader.
So…to writers:
Don’t tell me you don’t have time to do an outline on a complex story.
Don’t tell me you have to write long to tell the full story.
Don’t tell me you don’t have time to get quotes.
Don’t tell me news story writing cramps your style.
Don’t tell me you’re in the business of writing.
Don’t tell me you don’t have time to improve your craft.
Don’t tell me you missed deadline…again.
And for you designers…
Don’t tell me you don’t have time to plan.
Don’t tell me you never get enough space to do a good design.
Don’t tell me you don’t have time to communicate with writers.
Don’t tell me you don’t have time to create infoboxes.
Don’t tell me you have to run photos too small so you can fit them in with overwritten stories.
Don’t tell me you don’t have time to study up on typography. And color. And page structure. And spacing.
Don’t tell me you missed deadline…again.
If you tell me any of these things…well…I’ll still be your friend. But then, I’ll give you that virtual kick in the pants to remind you that you can do better. And I’ll help you do better…if you’ll let me.
John Foust has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training. E-mail for information: john@johnfoust.com
Back when I was in the ad agency business, I made a logo presentation that turned into a fiasco. It was an uncomfortable reminder of the importance of a presentation environment.
This particular client was a real estate development company which was on a fast growth track. They were going through a name change and needed a sleek new brand identity for their newspaper ads, stationery and signage. We had been through preliminary meetings and this was the unveiling of (what I thought was) the final version of the logo.
The meeting started innocently enough. Dan, the company president, and I were in his office. We reviewed our previous strategy conversations and I summarized their long-term corporate image plans. When I showed the logo design, his face lit up in a big smile. He said, “That’s exactly what we need,” and described the steps they could take to replace their existing logo. Then he said, “Let’s get a second opinion,” walked out of his office and returned a minute later with their office manager. When she frowned and said she liked the old logo better, I could see Don’s enthusiasm fading. She had not participated in our strategy meetings – and she had no knowledge of the reasoning behind a logo change – but all of a sudden, she had become a key influencer in the decision process.
Dan said, “Wait here. Let’s get another opinion.” He invited several more people into his office. Within minutes, a group was huddled around his desk, critiquing the logo that I had spent so much time designing. They seemed to be competing with each other to see who could make the most negative comments. It was a selling nightmare. They ignored my efforts to steer the conversation back on track.
The incident seems comical now, but it wasn’t funny when it happened. One person said she didn’t like the logo, because it had one of the colors in the Romanian flag. I checked later and learned that the Romanian flag is blue, yellow and red (I also learned that she was born in Romania, the only possible explanation for such a strange comment.)
It was no surprise that Dan rejected the logo design. Although he was a corporate executive, he frequently struggled with decisions. His attempt to get objective input from others had created a chaotic decision-making environment. The only solution was for me to go back to the drawing board to tweak the idea. When I presented that one, I explained that he was the only one in the company who was in position to make a fair judgment. I truly believed that he was uniquely qualified to see the big picture and make the decision. Fortunately, he took the compliment to heart and we had a positive one-to-one meeting which resulted in a sale.
The lesson was crystal clear. Too many opinions spoil a presentation. Do everything you can to limit the number of decision makers in the room.
(c) Copyright 2018 by John Foust. All rights reserved.
Gene Policinski is president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute. He can be reached at gpolicinski@freedomforum.org, or follow him on Twitter at @genefac.
As plainly and clearly as one can say or write this:
Journalism and journalists are not “enemies of the people.”
A free press brings us the news of the day, from weather to Wall Street, and when done properly functions as a “watchdog on government.” The public expects that first part, and the First Amendment — on behalf of all of us — protects that last part.
Today, at many small town publications and major metropolitan dailies and broadcast outlets big and small, something extraordinary is happening: News outlets are publishing editorials defending a free and independent press, pushing back against those who have attacked them as “enemies,” “despicable people” and purveyors of “fake news.”
“Enemies of the people?” Don’t make me laugh — though, if the implications were not so serious, we probably should.
The reality: Most journalists put their personal preferences aside in doing their job, looking for a good story regardless of political implications. “Fake news?” The term has been diluted to a current definition of news and information that some don’t want to see or hear, rather than an earlier association with factual error or deliberate misinformation.
The slander that may sting the most, the “enemies” tag, is centuries old, even appearing in a Shakespearean tragedy, but is most often associated with despots of a modern time, Stalin and Hitler. The charge simply has no place in a debate over the role, performance or ethics of a free press. It also ignores what is plain for all to see: journalists are “the people.”
Reporters and editors and broadcasters and online journalists throughout the nation live in the very same communities on which they report. Their children attend the same schools as everyone else’s. They shop in the same stores, and worship in the same places.
Most journalists work on topics like local school board policies, track government programs and officials, and report on the joys and tragedies of everyday life. Even the select group of professionals who track events in Washington or Wall Street or Silicon Valley go home at night to families and friends, just as we all do.
Yes, there are errors made in what is now journalism’s “24/7” world. There are cable TV pundits paid to pontificate, not report. The web and social media have brought us “stuff and fluff” that pretends often to be journalism but in reality is just political messaging and social posturing from those on the right and left wings of partisan debate.
A real worry is that there are just fewer journalists and fewer news outlets around to do the job — in newspapers alone, there are less than 25,000 when in 1990 there were more than 65,000. The amount of news to be reported has not shrunk accordingly. But that does not mean the remaining staffers are any less committed to clear and accurate journalism.
“We are not the enemy of the people,” Marjorie Pritchard, deputy managing editor for the editorial page of The Boston Globe, told the Associated Press earlier this week. As of Tuesday, more than 350 newspapers and broadcast outlets said they would join in the one-day commentary combine suggested by the Globe.
Pritchard said she expects differing views from the editorials, all written locally, “but the same sentiment: the importance of a free and independent press.”
No doubt some will slam President Trump for his frequent attacks on “the media,” as if there were one, monolithic news machine rather than the diverse, independent news sources that collectively make up the nation’s news outlets.
But vitriolic attacks on the press began long before Trump found ways to exploit those terms in what he told CBS’s Leslie Stahl in 2016, as his presidential campaign began, was a deliberate tactic to “discredit you all and demean you all so when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you.”
Congress tried jailing journalists it didn’t like only a few years after the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791 — and failed soon after. Not that many years ago, President Nixon had a news media “enemies list” of those to be targeted by government agencies and deployed Vice President Spiro Agnew to call journalists “nattering nabobs of negativity,” among other things. We know who, by virtue of relentless, solid reporting, was proven right in that dispute.
Today’s unprecedented editorial blitz is prompted in large degree by the perceived effectiveness of Trump and other politicians having found a new, direct way to deliver the “enemies” tag on a near-constant basis via social media — combined with the self-awareness of a news industry that knows it has been severely weakened by the web’s negative impact on both audience and advertising income.
There is some risk in today’s editorial effort: Trump may just use it as populist evidence that “the media” really is against him. Of course, he makes that case in many ways on most other days. And the 2018 State of the First Amendment survey, released in late June, clearly shows most Americans could use a reminder about the value of a free press.
For those willing to look, journalists print, broadcast and post stories each day that make our lives better, expose waste, fraud and abuse, and celebrate the good in our collective lives. For those not willing to look, and all too willing to just parrot the glib lines of leaders more interested in political traction than accurate criticism — well, no editorial is likely to change those minds.
Whatever the reason behind editorial writers nationwide making their case today in defense of good journalism, the ultimate — and effective — response in defense of a free press is in the work that simply proves the critics wrong.
A major goal of news reporting is to keep readers abridged of things, so it makes sense that uncovering and understanding trends should be part of any writer’s toolbox.
Editors — and readers — love trend reporting. Editors puff up when they’re outlet is first to report on anything. Readers use trend reporting to appear insightful during conversations at cook-outs or the coffee shop, and it provides them critical information to live well, be safe, find financial success or avoid pitfalls.
One firm fact about trend reporting is that it has never been trendier. Yet trend reporting is timeless and if you want your material to land on the front page or the home page, it is a skill worth mastering. Here are six tips to help you spot and illuminate trends in your community.
1. Trendspotting – finding the news peg
Finding trends is like any form of reporting in that it requires curiosity, thought and legwork. Reading, listening, asking questions and wondering why are key components. Some trends pop up quickly and require hustle to break the news: new musical or dining options; overly hot, cold, wet or dry weather; new policing or medical techniques; a rash of snake bites, car wrecks, infections or successful new businesses. Other trends ooze out over time: gender, age or racial changes in business or government; housing prices or availability; new methods of farming or manufacturing; epidemiological, birth or death patterns; or systemic environmental and education issues.
Find a fact, think about how it fits in (or doesn’t) to the big picture and ask those in the know what they’re seeing. Always hunt for reasons why a trend arose in your reporting.
2. Clip check for context
Once you’ve spotted a trend, or just have an idea, it’s time to see what’s already been written. This is exponentially easier in the internet age. Search a variety of ways and with multiple terms for background. Look for meaningful news accounts, government reports or scientific studies. Take note of the sources quoted (studies with sources cited or references are a gold mine of potential sources) and consider re-interviewing people who are especially on point. Dig deeper to find historical context that reveals a trend’s path. Be judicious when pulling data from past reporting, especially by other journalists or from reports that appear to be on the outskirts of rational or contemporary thought. What’s new now may be at the heart of your thesis or nut graph, but what came before or led to the trend may be just as revealing.
3. Go local, regional, national and global
Readers want to know what’s happening in their communities, but they also want to know how they fit in to the rest of the world. Once you nail the local trend, find background materials or sources that reveal how things play out elsewhere. Use a couple quick data points or examples from elsewhere to support the trend. Most times, your community will be a bit ahead or behind the curve, so be sure readers know where they land on the trendline and why.
4. Facts and figures provide the fuel
Most trends are supported by data collected by government, industry, watchdog groups or concerned individuals. Seek out current or contextual data to reveal the trendline. Find the most relevant data points and use them to support the nut graph high in the story. Sometimes a strong or startling piece of data can even become the lead. Use data to create boxes and break-outs to quickly illustrate the trend.
5. Case studies provide evidence
Finding “real people” to illustrate the trend can be tough, but it is critical to showing how the trend plays out on the ground level. Ask every source you encounter for ideas on who to call, and visit them in person when possible. Interviews with someone who has experienced the impacts of a trend is where the color and storytelling opportunities arise, and it is often where the good art, video, audio and details reside.
5. Don’t fear the trend-buster
In any trend, there are trend-busters – people, places or populations where the trend does not exist and in fact may be on a wholly opposite path. Never leave this material out of your story. Readers and editors will scoff if a piece is overly secure in its thesis, or if something appears to be happening on too large a scale. Everything in life is gray in some way and openly sharing the outliers gives the piece more power, not less. Remember, not everything is a trend – sometimes the vagaries of life are just how things are and if so, you may have to pull the plug on the idea.
With these tips in mind, give trend reporting a try, and it won’t be long before your material is popping up on the front page.
Nominations are now being accepted for the New England Newspaper Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees will be honored on February 15, 2019 at the New England Newspaper Convention, which will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in the Seaport District of Boston.
‘Enemies of the people?’ Simply, plainly – ‘no.’
As plainly and clearly as one can say or write this:
Journalism and journalists are not “enemies of the people.”
A free press brings us the news of the day, from weather to Wall Street, and when done properly functions as a “watchdog on government.” The public expects that first part, and the First Amendment — on behalf of all of us — protects that last part.
Today, at many small town publications and major metropolitan dailies and broadcast outlets big and small, something extraordinary is happening: News outlets are publishing editorials defending a free and independent press, pushing back against those who have attacked them as “enemies,” “despicable people” and purveyors of “fake news.”
“Enemies of the people?” Don’t make me laugh — though, if the implications were not so serious, we probably should.
The reality: Most journalists put their personal preferences aside in doing their job, looking for a good story regardless of political implications. “Fake news?” The term has been diluted to a current definition of news and information that some don’t want to see or hear, rather than an earlier association with factual error or deliberate misinformation.
The slander that may sting the most, the “enemies” tag, is centuries old, even appearing in a Shakespearean tragedy, but is most often associated with despots of a modern time, Stalin and Hitler. The charge simply has no place in a debate over the role, performance or ethics of a free press. It also ignores what is plain for all to see: journalists are “the people.”
Reporters and editors and broadcasters and online journalists throughout the nation live in the very same communities on which they report. Their children attend the same schools as everyone else’s. They shop in the same stores, and worship in the same places.
Most journalists work on topics like local school board policies, track government programs and officials, and report on the joys and tragedies of everyday life. Even the select group of professionals who track events in Washington or Wall Street or Silicon Valley go home at night to families and friends, just as we all do.
Yes, there are errors made in what is now journalism’s “24/7” world. There are cable TV pundits paid to pontificate, not report. The web and social media have brought us “stuff and fluff” that pretends often to be journalism but in reality is just political messaging and social posturing from those on the right and left wings of partisan debate.
A real worry is that there are just fewer journalists and fewer news outlets around to do the job — in newspapers alone, there are less than 25,000 when in 1990 there were more than 65,000. The amount of news to be reported has not shrunk accordingly. But that does not mean the remaining staffers are any less committed to clear and accurate journalism.
“We are not the enemy of the people,” Marjorie Pritchard, deputy managing editor for the editorial page of The Boston Globe, told the Associated Press earlier this week. As of Tuesday, more than 350 newspapers and broadcast outlets said they would join in the one-day commentary combine suggested by the Globe.
Pritchard said she expects differing views from the editorials, all written locally, “but the same sentiment: the importance of a free and independent press.”
No doubt some will slam President Trump for his frequent attacks on “the media,” as if there were one, monolithic news machine rather than the diverse, independent news sources that collectively make up the nation’s news outlets.
But vitriolic attacks on the press began long before Trump found ways to exploit those terms in what he told CBS’s Leslie Stahl in 2016, as his presidential campaign began, was a deliberate tactic to “discredit you all and demean you all so when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you.”
Congress tried jailing journalists it didn’t like only a few years after the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791 — and failed soon after. Not that many years ago, President Nixon had a news media “enemies list” of those to be targeted by government agencies and deployed Vice President Spiro Agnew to call journalists “nattering nabobs of negativity,” among other things. We know who, by virtue of relentless, solid reporting, was proven right in that dispute.
Today’s unprecedented editorial blitz is prompted in large degree by the perceived effectiveness of Trump and other politicians having found a new, direct way to deliver the “enemies” tag on a near-constant basis via social media — combined with the self-awareness of a news industry that knows it has been severely weakened by the web’s negative impact on both audience and advertising income.
There is some risk in today’s editorial effort: Trump may just use it as populist evidence that “the media” really is against him. Of course, he makes that case in many ways on most other days. And the 2018 State of the First Amendment survey, released in late June, clearly shows most Americans could use a reminder about the value of a free press.
For those willing to look, journalists print, broadcast and post stories each day that make our lives better, expose waste, fraud and abuse, and celebrate the good in our collective lives. For those not willing to look, and all too willing to just parrot the glib lines of leaders more interested in political traction than accurate criticism — well, no editorial is likely to change those minds.
Whatever the reason behind editorial writers nationwide making their case today in defense of good journalism, the ultimate — and effective — response in defense of a free press is in the work that simply proves the critics wrong.