Shop Talk

Chicago-based Robert Feder, who reports on the media, joined others in taking to task the student newspaper at Northwestern University. The Daily Northwestern's editor-in-chief and eight other editors signed an editorial that apologized for the paper's coverage of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions' appearance at a College Republicans event and the protests that accompanied his appearance.

The Shop Talk panelists continue last week's conversation about Mark Zuckerberg's plan to begin Facebook News. The site will not hire journalists or generate original content; it instead will serve as a gatekeeper by cherry-picking stories from a few select news organizations.

A commentary on CNN's website examines Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's announcement that he will start Facebook News. Zuckerberg said it will curate "high quality" news and information, and will pay some publishers millions of dollars a year for access to their journalism. Those sources of journalism will include NPR, CNN, BuzzFeed News, the Washington Post, and many others.

CNN reported that President Donald Trump recently proposed the idea of starting a new television network.  CNN said the president made the suggestion after attacking CNN International at a Medicare event in Florida. Trump said the news network is "so bad" and called it a "terrible thing for our country."

NPR Illinois, which is based at the University of Illinois Springfield, has been working with ProPublica to report on the University of Illinois' handling of sexual misconduct cases.  The school's Title IX coordinator responded by telling station leaders that virtually all university employees – including journalists -- are required to report alleged sexual misconduct that they are told about to the Title IX office.  

An article in the public broadcasting trade publication Current said NPR is projecting that podcast sponsorship revenues will surpass revenues from broadcast sponsorships next year for the first time.

The Guardian asked the question: Why can't we agree on what’s true anymore?  This week the Shop Talk panelists examine that question.

Politico recently reported that White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said that she is not likely to conduct a White House press briefing anytime in the near future. Politico reported that Grisham criticized the once-regular sessions as an act of "theater" for reporters seeking "to get famous" during the televised news conferences.

Cokie Roberts died this month from complications of breast cancer. She is considered one of the founding mothers of NPR and she is also well known for her work on the ABC television network.

The starting point for this week's Shop Talk discussion is a plan proposed by Bernie Sanders, who is running for the Democratic Party nomination for president. In an opinion piece for Columbia Journalism Review, Sanders wrote that journalism is under assault from Wall Street, billionaire businessmen, Silicon Valley, and Donald Trump. 

President Donald Trump complained on Twitter that Fox New "isn't working for us anymore."  He also tweeted, "We have to start looking for a new News Outlet."

The Poynter Institute reported that the Knight Foundation has announced it is donating $1.2 million to try to make America's newsrooms more diverse.

An article on the RTDNA website reviews the latest global digital news study from Reuters. The piece is written by Vince Duffy, who is news director of Michigan Radio. 

As reported by numerous outlets, the newspaper chains Gannett and Gatehouse will be merging.  Gannett prints 110 daily papers. GateHouse has 156 papers, including several in this region. The deal will formally close by the end of the year.

The Shop Talk panelists talk about the business of educating the next generation of journalists. The panelists said there is no longer a clear division between different skill sets -- today's reporters are often expected to know how to write for print and broadcasting plus have photojournalism skills.  And it can be a challenge for professors to learn all those skills and how to teach them.

The Columbia Journalism Review shared a story about Jon Kelvey.  He’s a 37-year old reporter who works at the Carroll County Times. It’s a small daily newspaper owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The paper is based in Westminster, Maryland.

The CJR reported that Kelvey has a wife and a young daughter, and is the family’s sole breadwinner. His annual salary is $36,500.

Some news organizations – including NPR and Columbia Journalism Review -- labeled President Trump's tweet about four Democratic congresswomen as "racist." Other outlets were more cautious in their approach, using terms such as "racially charged" and "racist trope."

Financier and billionaire Jeffrey Epstein is charged with sex trafficking.  And Politico quoted a federal prosecutor as saying "We were assisted by some excellent investigative journalism," specifically citing the Miami Herald series "Perversion of Justice" by reporter Julie K. Brown.  That’s the starting point for this week's discussion on Shop Talk.

The Wall Street Journal recently published a commentary that states President Donald Trump crossed a line when he accused the New York Times of treason.  The piece noted that the nation’s founders considered treason the gravest of crimes and that tossing around the charge is irresponsible and wrong.

A central Illinois TV weatherman lost his job after he criticized the station’s "Code Red" weather alerts for failing to align with the storm warning language used by the National Weather Service.  WICS meteorologist Joe Crain called "Code Red" a corporate initiative.

The Illinois News Broadcasters Association, the RTDNA, and other journalism groups are criticizing a new policy implemented by Marilyn Hite Ross, who is the new state's attorney in Winnebago County in northern Illinois. The policy dictates that journalists seeking to interview her must submit their questions ahead of time. She will immediately end any interview if a reporter deviates from the approved list of questions.

The Trump administration recently filed new charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.  The charges fall under the 1917 Espionage Act and are connected to the 2010 publication of secret documents about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Wikileaks also published secret documents related to diplomatic communications regarding dozens of nations. 

The Shop Talk panel discusses a recent article in Columbia Journalism Review.  It’s about a former reporter, 27-year old Valeria Sistrunk, who has created (as she puts it) “a tool to come and tell the truth.”

NPR reported that the U.S. Army issued a tweet ahead of Memorial Day weekend with a question for service members and veterans: "How has serving impacted you?"  Soon, thousands of responses began flooding in.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that police raided the home of freelance journalist and videographer Bryan Carmody in response to allegations that he leaked a police report into the death of the city's public defender. Carmody has declined to release the name of the source who gave him the report. 

The Illinois Times reported State Journal-Register Editor Angie Muhs was escorted out of the building by the paper's general manager after she submitted her resignation. The Times reported the paper's entire newsroom staff accompanied them to demonstrate support for Muhs, who resigned after five years in Springfield.

Law Day was observed on May 1. This year’s theme was "Free Speech, Free Press, Free Society." Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier addressed the theme in a piece shared with media outlets, and media attorney Don Craven talked about the topic during a presentation to a central Illinois bar association.

Poynter recently posted a list of 515 "unreliable" news websites.  Poynter said the list was built from pre-existing databases compiled by journalists, fact-checkers, and researchers.  But the organization withdrew the list after receiving complaints from those on the list and others who objected to the inclusion of certain sites.

Shop Talk panelist and TSPR News Director Rich Egger recently spoke at a conference about what it is like to report on your boss (i.e., Western Illinois University).  Another public radio news director at the conference said he does not report on his host institution even though it receives state money and property tax dollars.

NPR recently reported on a study by the group Reporters Without Borders, which found the United States has become a less safe place for journalists.  The group dropped the U.S. to No. 48 out of 180 on its annual World Press Freedom Index, which is three spots lower than its place last year.