S1: It's time for Midday Edition on Kpbs. Today , we are talking about your local news and its future as new journalists enter the field amid layoffs. I'm Jade Hindman. Here's to conversations that keep you informed , inspired and make you think. We'll hear analysis of the San Diego Union-Tribune recent buyout. Then the conversation continues with a panel of journalists on how layoffs are affecting newsrooms across the country.
S2: I definitely feel some measure of survivor's guilt to some extent. You know , seeing how layoffs are affecting so many different publications , so many of my fellow journalists , because it's it's tough.
S1: Plus how one local organization is working to keep newsrooms diverse as they change. That's ahead on Midday Edition. For many , journalism can feel like a calling. But ask any working journalist and you'll learn that it's often a difficult and unforgiving industry. Newsrooms and media organizations across the country are laying off employees due to budget deficits. Just yesterday , the LA Times sold the San Diego Union Tribune to an affiliate of media news group. It's owned by Alden Global Capital , which is a hedge fund known for cutting staff in local newsrooms. UT staff , in fact , have already been notified of potential layoffs. The implications of that could change the landscape of San Diego's local news. Jerry McCormick , who is a founding member of the San Diego Association of Black Journalists and adjunct professor at Sdsu , joined us with analysis of the situation. I first asked him about reaction to the buyout.
S3: It's been it's it's been a terrible day , to be honest. A lot of people are just stunned that this happened. A lot of people that I've talked to are afraid of what's going to happen next. And they're wondering about their futures. I mean , the previous owner has had this paper for a few years now and along with the LA Times , and they literally found out yesterday in an email and , you know , imagine going to work every day , putting your heart and soul into a project , and then all of a sudden just having that ripped away from you. It's a very scary feeling.
S1: And as far as we know , layoffs will come if not enough people accept a buyout. Is that correct ? Yeah.
S3: So I went through this in 2009 when the UT was first sold from the Copley family. David Copley sold it to Platinum Equity and literally it was the paper was sold. Then on Tuesday , we got back our 401 seconds. Wednesday nothing happened. And then Thursday they were doing layoffs. And that happened back in 2009. And I remember I was teaching at Southwestern College at the time and a coworker said , Hey , they're doing layoffs today. And I was as I was driving up from Chula Vista because at the time the UT was in Mission Valley and I was thinking about all the reasons that they should keep me. And then when I got in the parking lot and I saw all of the people leaving the building , I knew I was gone. So it's a very scary feeling , you know , to again , to put your heart , your soul , your time away from your family , the sacrifices you've made. And then someone , somewhere decided that your services are no longer needed.
S1: What do you know about the company that made the purchase ? Media News group.
S3: They're owned by one of the worst hedge funds in the business. This this company is known for gutting newspapers. And so the people of San Diego should be very concerned about what's happening to the Union-Tribune right now.
S1:
S3: I would imagine that a good 20% of those are going to be gone and it could be even more. It just depends on how deep the cuts go and how many people accept the buyouts. So let's just say they cut half the newsroom. That's 50 people , 50 people for the entire county of San Diego. It's not a lot of people. So a lot of things are not going to be covered anymore. I would imagine like high school sports , I would imagine the sports section is going to take a drastic slash. School board meetings , county meetings are not going to be attended anymore because they just won't have the bodies. And I am also concerned about the institutional knowledge because some of the reporters have been there for decades. They've tracked some of the biggest stories in San Diego. And , you know , all of that institutional knowledge is just going to be going out the door. And , you know , God bless the younger reporters. They all probably stay because they're younger , cheaper , faster , but they're going to be working their butts off. And , you know , at the end of the day , one person can only do so much. And so 50 people , that's not a lot of people to cover all of the news that's happening here in San Diego. It's just not.
S1:
S3: I know that some of them , the national offices are beginning to reach out to the local journalists to see what they can do to help. In addition , I mean , I can use my story as an example. When I got laid off , I was lucky enough that a local television station reached out to me because I had networked and I had , you know , as a teacher , they knew my work and they knew I could write and they offered me a part time job. And it just created this whole new career for me as a broadcast journalist. So my advice to those over the Union-Tribune , if you can afford to take the buyout , I would take the buyout and then look for a way to reinvent myself. Because , you know , at the end of the day , journalism is changing. And unfortunately , the days of you work at one company and you stay to retire , it seems to be over when it comes to journalism.
S1: All right.
S3: There's going to be a lot of changes. I wouldn't be surprised if they got rid of the physical paper and went all digital. I know a lot of newspapers around the country are going in that direction. Again , I would not be surprised if that happened. It would also not surprise me if they cut back. If they do decide to keep the physical paper , then they cut back the number of days that it's produced. Like maybe it won't be produced on a Wednesday or maybe you'll get the paper Monday , Friday , Saturday , Sunday. So I could see that happening. I also see them moving from those offices downtown. As you go downtown , you're flying. You see the big Union Tribune masthead on the building. I bet that's going to go away. They're probably going to make people work from home to save money. It's really they're really going to gut that newsroom. And I feel sorry for all of my friends that work there , but I'm hopeful for them to I , I wish them the best. And I want them to know that there is life after newspapers. It's a very scary time as a journalist in this business. But you will make it. You got this.
S1: That was SD BJ founding member Jerry McCormick. We'll hear more from him later in the show. But much like the UT staff , reductions across local newsrooms are part of a trend. Voice of San Diego and I news source also cut staff recently. And on the national level , our own network , NPR and the Washington Post and the LA Times , they all cut staff. Journalists of color in particular , have been hit hard. Last month , when the LA Times laid off 73 staffers , more than half were people of color. So what does this all mean for the journalism industry ? How can newsrooms still serve the community and reflect its diversity , especially if journalists of color are often the first to go ? Joining me today are Janelle Salonga , co-executive director at the Objective and Cap Radio's Northern California reporter. Janelle. Hi.
S2: Yeah , hi. Happy to be here.
S1: So glad to have you , Janelle. Felicia Henderson also joins us. She's director of cultural competency at the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. Felicia , welcome.
S4: Thank you very much for having me today.
S1: Glad to have you. And Doris Truong , senior director of Teaching and Diversity Strategies at Poynter. Doris , welcome back to Midday Edition.
S5: Thanks so much. I'm glad to be here.
S1: Glad to have you all. So , Doris , I want to start with you. Layoffs are not new in this industry.
S5: That happened in 2008.
S1: And when that happened , what caused it and really what happened in newsrooms across the country.
S5: Well , I think in 2008 , the issue was that newsroom executives and people who are in charge of those kinds of financial decisions were thinking that the best and easiest way to immediately cut costs was to cut employees and that disproportionately affected journalists of color , many of whom were newer to the jobs and newer to their markets. And many of them were let go. And that really created a ripple effect throughout our industry because some of those journalists of color left the industry and some of them still have not come back. And we lost people at a variety of levels. But losing those journalists of color at their early career means that we don't necessarily have people who are ready to step up for middle management or executive roles later who are journalists of color.
S1: And , you know , it also seemed like positions were consolidated within newsrooms , too. And that happened I know when I was working during that time , I went from wearing one hat to at least 3 or 4 , you know , just from. Reporter Then with the added responsibility of being an editor , videographer , live shot operator.
S5: Some organizations have cut copy desks , which used to be that last line of defense for the audience , making sure that facts were correct and that stories tracked and that the context was there. That's a job that I used to have , and so that's why it's near and dear to my heart. So asking all of the people to do more with less is a disservice to the journalists , but also not necessarily serving the audience well either.
S1: Well , Felicia , I was going to ask you , you know , you've seen colleagues laid off and also been involved firsthand.
S4: And as advertising dropped , particularly with all forms of media budgets became tighter every year. And those are just difficult decisions that they have to make. And fortunately , employees are sacrificed in order to meet a budget.
S1:
S4: There's just a lot of things that are taken into consideration with layoffs. The layoffs that I was involved in , we I worked in a union shop and they were based on the categories that people worked in. And whoever had the least seniority were , unfortunately , the one the people who were laid off. And sometimes in a lot of those cases , they turned out to be journalists of color. Perhaps being in management could have helped. But National Geographic announced layoffs. And the former executive editor for culture , who was now moved into a vice president of Diversity , Equity and Inclusion , Deborah Adams. Simmons was laid off. So there's no guarantee that even at the executive level that you can avoid a layoff.
S1: Yeah , and it seems like a lot of corporations , even outside the news industry , are cutting those those staff members. Janelle , I'm curious to know from you. I want to get your perspective as an early career journalist. You started at Cape Radio in 2021 , shortly after graduating.
S2: I think , you know , I came of age reading things like BuzzFeed News in high school at a time when , you know , digital media was kind of preached to be , oh , like this is the future of media. This is where media is going. And , you know , in my role at pop radio , I do I do wear a bunch of hats. I do , you know , audio reporting. I report for digital. I work on a newsletter , all sorts of things. And I think it's I definitely feel some measure of survivor's guilt to some extent. You know , seeing how layoffs are affecting so many different publications. So many. Any of my fellow journalists because it's it's tough. And I think it's also been strange for me to hear , you know , in some spaces this very common messaging to young or aspiring journalists or working journalists who are who are being told , oh , you know , just keep plugging away , just keep working hard , and , you know , you'll get to where you need to be , which I feel is a message that doesn't always reckon with how dire things may look right now and do look.
S1: You know , and like the saying goes , it's last to get hired first to get fired.
S2: I wonder to and I don't know that I have necessarily statistics to back it up , but how much of that , you know , departure also comes from , like you said , you know , lots of journalists of color may be earlier in the careers and may not have , you know , the trappings of awards or these sorts of accolades that the industry may use to determine what kind of value a journalist provides to a publication. And I think that , you know , sometimes you can't really quantify the value that a journalist of color and the experiences that they have and the frame that they report from brings to a publication , especially when that publication has , you know , done harm in a community because it has primarily been driven by , you know , reporters who prioritize speed rather than , you know , building relationships or something like that. And so , yeah , I mean , I think that possibly also plays a role where you see journalists who maybe come from more traditional backgrounds of knowing exactly how to get journalism awards , knowing that they've wanted to be a journalist since they were in elementary or high school or something like that , who know how to navigate this industry , having more of a leg up and more of a way to , I guess , not necessarily defend themselves , but insulate themselves maybe against some of these outside pressures. And that's not to say that , you know , to some degree layoffs don't discriminate , but obviously they also do and can write. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And this question is open to all of you. You know , many media organizations made a public commitment to increase diversity in the Newsroom after the murder of George Floyd back in 2020. But it almost seems like lip service as journalists of color continue to get laid off.
S5: It was clearly a checkbox because the people who were named to these roles of being responsible for diversity , equity and inclusion were often already tasked with another full time job and were not given an opportunity or the resources to really do much to develop out that diversity , equity and inclusion , especially in organizations where that isn't necessarily part of the ethos within the newsroom , where people are aware of how to increase that sense of inclusion and belonging on staff or aware of their own lack of information and what they need to know to really connect with parts of the community , as Janelle said , where some distrust may have formed over years of poor coverage.
S1: So this question is also for all of you , The LA Times. Their recent round of layoffs included its only Spanish speaking photographers. Last February , NPR cut four of its podcasts , which were helmed by people of color and LGBTQ plus staff.
S4: I mean , it's really unfortunate because at a time when news organizations want to do a better job of reaching diverse audiences , it just really comes at the worst time. So at the Maynard Institute , a lot of our training is in our fault Lines program , where we talk with journalists to recognize their own personal biases across the social faultlines of class and geography and race. And having people of color on staff really helps lend a nuance and perspective to stories so that , you know , now that , you know , we're training people , newsroom editors , content gatherers on the Fault Lines framework , hopefully that will help people recognize the biases that they have because we all carry bias and that they'll be able to look at stories perhaps with a different mindset. And given the fact that , you know , the the diversity is now lacking in their newsrooms as a result of layoffs.
S1: That was Janelle Salonga , co-executive director at the objective. And. Northern California. Reporter Also Felicia Henderson , director of cultural competency at the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education , along with Doris Truong , senior director of teaching and diversity strategies at Poynter. Coming up , the conversation continues with how journalists are coping with the changing landscape of news.
S4: You can prepare a staff , you can have conversations about possible layoffs , and no one has ever prepared when they are asked to go to a room to meet with HR.
S1: You're listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. You're listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. I've been speaking about media layoffs and its impact on journalists of color , with Janelle Salonga , co-executive director at the Objective and Kapu Radio's Northern California reporter. Also Felicia Henderson , director of cultural competency at the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education , and Doris Truong , senior director of teaching and Diversity strategies at Poynter. Felicia , you know , you've coached many newsrooms on diversity , equity and inclusion issues.
S4: You know , typically a lot of newsrooms , particularly those newsrooms in larger markets , will say 5 to 7 years of experience. You know , and sometimes is that amount of experience really required , you know , looking at candidates that may come from different backgrounds but have experience in the communities , they they're able they have those connections in the communities. I know there are several newsrooms that have taken that type of approach to get candidates. And I think we have to stop looking for candidates in in traditional ways and and come up with unique ways to to find diverse candidates endorse.
S1: You also train newsrooms in recruiting and retaining diverse journalists.
S5: It's everyone's job to be aware of the complex world that surrounds us. And so if you are to assume that somebody who is in your newsroom , who comes from a specific background , wants to cover that community , that might not be correct. And so really asking people what their career aspirations are and thinking through how do we broaden the world view of everybody who works in this news organization so that we can connect with those different kinds of communities , especially the ones that aren't always in the news that would help.
S1: And Janelle , you've written a lot about power and inequity in journalism with the objective , but it's also an ever changing industry.
S2: I think that , yeah , something that to go back to what Doris said to and to touch on what Felicia had said , you know , I think both of those things ensuring that newsrooms are better equipped as a whole to deal with issues of race and culture and religion and disability , things like that , I think is one big thing. And , you know , looking for folks in who maybe don't have the elite Ivy Ivy League or premier school backgrounds , I think those are those are both important things. But in terms of practice , I mean , I think a huge thing is , you know , making sure that , you know , that your reporters have support and not just being clear about the context in which you're you're sending them out to pursue a story and whether that means , you know , if you're sending a queer reporter out to cover an event where there may be proud boys or some some other group that has demonstrated , you know , aggression towards an identity group that that reporter may be a part of , you know , making sure that reporter isn't going to that event alone. I think that's one very specific scenario , but also just something that illustrates a need for broader understanding of how to provide support. You know , obviously there are needs for for daily news and things like that , But structuring and newsrooms such that the priority of speed isn't always the highest priority and that there's other other things that get taken into account. You know , going back to the idea of building trust with communities that have felt harmed by media in the past , taking the time to work with those communities and to be transparent when you're working to tell stories or working with them to tell their stories.
S1: And this is for all of you , you know , this can be a very demoralizing time to be in journalism. So what are you all hearing from colleagues and friends you've worked with about how layoffs are affecting them personally ? And then also just , you know , having to fight the constant battle of disinformation and misinformation and a lack of public trust.
S4: So to answer your first question , how are people feeling ? Based on my experience going through the layoff process in 2016 ? Very demoralizing , particularly for the individuals who you can prepare a staff. You can have conversations about possible layoffs. And no one is ever prepared when they are asked to go to a room to meet with HR because you never expect that you will be that person laid off. And to appoint the dorice made earlier. The unfortunate part about it , many of those people who were laid off for personal reasons didn't want to move to another state or another city where there might be opportunities. So they left the business altogether and to this day very angry about the fact that they were forced to leave a career that they enjoyed.
S2: Yeah , I think it definitely feels like what I've been hearing is just a general sense of frustration. And like Felicia said , you know , anger , I think especially with a lot of newsrooms talking about , oh , you know , we really want to diversify our ranks. You really want to commit to diversity , inclusion and equity , like in 2020. You know , the contrast between those promises and what we're seeing. You know , three years later , I think there's a lot of anger and a lot of people feeling like , you know , all those promises were just essentially lip service , to use a phrase that Doris used earlier , because it feels like , you know , it feels like they're finally seeing the merit and the value of the work that journalists of color , queer journalists , etcetera , have been doing. And then , you know , with layoffs , whether or not that's intentional , it feels like that's being taken away and with how hard it can be to even get your foot in the door for journalism jobs. People are angry and people are also upset because while there are newsrooms that do talk with their employees about potential layoffs or some measure of transparency , you know , going back to like the LA Times layoffs , for example , sometimes these layoffs are happening very suddenly and people are getting axed without any kind of fair warning or any kind of advance notice. And so people are also angry about that , that there's this lack of transparency and that there's this also , you know , sometimes this huge salary disparity between the people who are saying , you know , making these decisions and making these calls to lay off folks and the people who are actually getting laid off.
S5: I would just echo that there is a lot of demoralization and anger out there. But I also want to cite Carla Murphy , who has done a survey about why journalists of color stay in the workplace. And this follows up on work that she did in 2020 about why journalists of color leave. And the really interesting thing about her survey on why people choose to stay journalists of color in particular , is that when they feel their values , their professional values are represented in the news organization , so that they have that sense of inclusion and belonging. That's what gets them to stay. And one of the really interesting pieces of really interesting findings that she had was that the word objectivity was not a top priority , which doesn't necessarily mean that journalists of color don't value having all sorts of different perspectives in a news story. It is just that the word objectivity has lost so much meaning or is defined differently by so many people that clinging to objectivity can drive that wall even higher. Right.
S1: Right. It's about kind of clinging to fairness in many regards. Right.
S2: Because to go back to this conversation about wearing so many hats , when you when layoffs impact a newsroom and , you know , jobs kind of get more and more condensed or the responsibilities get more and more condensed , it becomes harder to , you know , go out and do the kinds of stories or even the kind of relationship building that you as a reporter might want to do because you just have so many other things on your plate that you need to get done.
S1: And you know , from all of your perspectives.
S5: Or with layoffs , as you lose people in a news organization and everyone's being asked to do more with less. You're not able to cover as many things or cover things as well. And that leads into possible public perception of they're not covering the stories that are important to me.
S4: Yeah , there is hope with media startups. I've been involved in the table stakes programs. I'm currently a coach at the Unk program and in the state of North Carolina , for example , there are a number , a large number of startup organizations that are doing really well to offset the news deserts in that state. In Michigan , there are 3 to 4 startups , particularly in the metro Detroit area , that are doing well. So I think the startup organizations are going to be really the answer to the issues that are taking place in the legacy organizations. And the legacy organizations are those organizations that have that are struggling.
S2: I think the partnerships is a huge one working especially for , you know , as local news outlets may have to or may be undergoing layoffs. I think local news outlets working with each other to whether that's startups or legacy outlets to , you know , ensure that local communities are getting information they need. I think that's really key. I think also something that I find really hopeful is seeing , you know , these worker owned media companies , I think Range Media in the Pacific Northwest and Defector , a national national media outlet , come to mind. I think those are also providing hope as well as seeing , you know , the growth of unions or just worker conversations and solidarity across different newsrooms. I think that's been huge because I think just journalists working together to ensure that they they too are being able to work in conditions that ensure that they can provide the most , most thoughtful , most accurate reporting is also really important and is also a source of hope for me.
S1: I've been speaking with Janelle Salonga , co-executive director at the Objective and Cap Radio's Northern California reporter Felicia Henderson , director of cultural competency at the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education , and Doris Truong , senior director of teaching and Diversity strategies at Poynter. Thank you all so much for joining us today.
S5: It's been a pleasure. Thank you.
S4: Thank you.
S2: Thank you.
S1: What thoughts do you have about the future of journalism ? What platforms do you get your news ? Give us a call at (619) 452-0228. Leave a message or you can email us at midday at pbs.org. We'd love to share your thoughts here on Midday Edition. Coming up , the conversation continues with how one organization is working to keep newsrooms more diverse.
S3: If you know the story , you can tell the story. If you live the story , you can tell the story.
S1: You're listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. Welcome back. You're listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. As you just heard from our last panel , journalists of color are being hit hard by layoffs in some markets. But one local organization is fighting to keep newsrooms diverse by offering scholarships and support to aspiring journalists. Last month , the San Diego Association of Black Journalists awarded scholarships to four students excelling in journalism here locally. Joining me today are Jaden Hanzi , an Sdsu student and one of those scholarship recipients , and Jerry McCormick , founding member of San Diego Association of Black Journalists and an adjunct professor in the journalism and media studies department at Sdsu. Welcome to you both.
S3: Thank you so much. We're glad to be here.
S6: Thank you so much. So happy to be here.
S1: But first , congratulations on your scholarship , Jaden. Thank you. You're looking to pursue a career in sports journalism.
S6: And I didn't think well when I was playing sports , I thought that I would be able to make it to the big leagues , of course , like every young athlete does. But unfortunately it didn't work out for me. But I was always a good student , always had really good grades. And in middle school I took a journalism elective , not even knowing that would be what I wanted to do with my life. And ever since then , I still credit that that class to me , kind of finding my passion for journalism , passion for writing , passion for speaking. So ever since then , I knew I wanted to make my impact on the world somehow. So it was kind of like just the cards fell in , fell in line for a line for me and ended up choosing journalism. And I just wanted to do something that I enjoyed as well. So sports , journalism and journalism , it just all went hand in hand. So it was it was kind of like it was destined to be in a way. So that's why I'm pursuing it.
S1: All right. Jaden , that is so wonderful.
S6: I do think there's a mis representation of black people within the journalism culture and just the whole field. I know a lot of times when you click on the news , you see older white men , older white women and of course that's , that's cool and all. But I'm big on diversity , especially being a black man. I understand the importance of diversity. I understand the importance that that everyone's opinion is differs depending on their ethnicity , their race , their gender or religious background , whatever it may be. I understand that it's important to have different perspectives and something as important as the news. It's definitely important to have a different perspective because if it's just a one sided perspective , that means our whole world is consuming a one sided perspective which is continuing one , one person's or one perspectives ideology. So if that makes sense. So I definitely think it's important to have diversity , and I do not like how there's a misrepresentation of black people within the newsroom , but that's why I'm trying my hardest to start that change , create that change , having more successful black men and women to be able to represent the black culture and speak on topics that may have to do with black events such as good events and also negative events as well.
S1: You know , Jerry , for the last 23 years , SDB has been helping aspiring journalist achieve their career goals. So talk about the ways you're helping students and what the mission is.
S3: Thank you , Jade. So we were founded in February 2000 , and I moved here from South Carolina , and I've been a longtime member of the National Association of Black Journalists , which is the largest journalism group for journalists of color. And notice that there wasn't a chapter here. So I was working on a chapter. And then another woman , Kelly Williams , was also working on trying to found a chapter. And so we came together along with some journalists from the Union Tribune , and we decided it's time for Star to be born. And one of our goals was to educate the next generation of journalists. Our mission statement is to bridge the gap between African Americans and the media and how a better way to do and what a better way to do that than to train the next generation of journalists. So we instituted our scholarship program probably about a year and a half after our foundation , and we reached out to corporate sponsors to try to get them to help support us in this effort. And today , we've sent more than 75 students to college to pursue degrees in journalism , communications and English. So the main thing is , you know , Jaden mentioned this earlier is we're trying to get newsrooms to be more diverse. We're trying to get more people of color into newsrooms so that we can tell our stories. If you know the. You can tell the story. If you lived a story , you can tell the story. Or if you empathize with the story , you can tell the story. I'm super excited about this next generation because those of us of a certain age , we didn't have all of the opportunities that these kids do. I mean , basically what their smartphones , they're walking around with many newsrooms in their pockets or their purses. And so it's our goal to make sure that if they're recording , they're filming what have you , and reporting , we want to make sure that they do it right.
S1: And Jerry , you work with a lot of students as an adjunct professor at Sdsu. What do you think the most important message is to tell students who are pursuing a career in journalism ? In this particular climate , when you're working to gain public trust , combat disinformation and correct misinformation.
S3: So I tell my students , believe in you when no one else will. And that cuts in many different directions. Journalism is a hard field to be in , as you very well know. And I tell my students , it's not for the weak. You're going to work long hours , you're going to work holidays , you're going to work weekends , you're going to be away from your family. But if you truly love this and this is a calling , you got to answer the call and you got to do your best work. And so , you know , right now , the public isn't really wild about media the way they used to be. And so it's up to us to regain their trust. And the way to do that is solid reporting stories that they care about , stories that they haven't heard about. And so that's one of the reasons SDI works. We actually have two tentpole events. One is the scholarship reception , and then another is called Pro for a Day , which is basically a journalism boot camp , which is held usually in November in the South Bay. And so by using these two things , we're actually helping tell the journalism story the way that it needs to be told.
S1:
S3: Unfortunately , the media has been painted as the enemy or people don't understand what we do. You know , they see things on TV and movies and , you know , they assume that's the way we operate and we operate with objectivity , intelligence , empathy. These are the qualities that we need to show. We as an industry , need to show the public that this is you know , these are the tenets that we operate under. We're not the , you know , to catch a predator , run you outside the house and follow you down the streets or of journalists. And I think that's what a lot of people think. We're more. Got you. And that's not how we are. You know , there are some organizations that that's the way they run things. But the majority of us , we're storytellers. We want to tell good stories , period. We want to know about you. We want to know about your community. We want to know what affects you. And then we want to be able to deliver that news in a way that you can use , not weaponize , but use.
S1: And , you know , it's hard for some people to know what's true and what's not when they're reading or watching the news , which is why local journalism is so important.
S3: I mean , you know , the Internet is the Wild West these days. You can find anything to support any cause that you believe in or don't believe in. And local journalism , we cut through all of the the misinformation. And unfortunately , you know , journalism , it's a noble profession. But at the end of the day , it is a business. And somewhere along the line , we have trained people that the news is free. Well , no , the news is not free. Someone has to pay that reporter's salary. Someone has to pay the photog salary. Someone has to pay the editors salary. Someone has to you know , this money has to come from somewhere. Advertising revenue. You know , unfortunately , the pandemic took a big hit out of advertising revenue. What I tell my students is advertising is the fuel in the media machine. But also consider the sources that you're you're going after. And so I think we need more support from the public now more than ever. I mean , we've got a lot of issues going through the Supreme Court right now. We have a lot of issues just in general. And we need people , intelligent people , empathetic people and objective people to cover these issues in a way that is important to our public. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And from how we consume news to how we shed light on the truth , much is changing in journalism. So what do you think are the best journalistic practices to impart ? To young.
S3: Journalist one Go in with an open mind. Do not go in with preconceived notions. How ? I cannot tell you the number of times when I was a reporter or whatever journalistic function I was doing that I thought , okay , this story is going to be this. And then I got back to whatever news outlet I was doing , and I came back with a totally different story , you know ? So just go in with an open mind , go in with empathy , because there are people behind the words. You know , you have to remember that your story is going to affect someone in some shape , form or fashion. The fact that you're interested in doing the story means that other people are interested to. So I tell them that and then be objective. Try to get as many sides as possible , keep you out of the story. You know , as my late mother used to say , it ain't about you , you know , it's about other people. You are just a conduit. Tell that story and then , you know , I tell my students , people connect with people , not concepts or ideas. Find the person in the story. You know , find that mom who , you know , things are really tight right now. So instead of driving everywhere , she bought a bike or she's beginning to walk to the grocery store , find the person that people can connect with. And then when I write or produce or whatever , I actually have an audience member in mind. I've named her. I know what she does. You know , I basically created a character in my head about who my audience member is , and I tell my students , you know , try to find the central , compelling character , you know , and then also talk to them and try to find that perfect sound that's going to reach out through the screens or even in print and grab someone because you want people to leave your stories with. I didn't know that or I never thought about it that way or what's next. So these are the things that I try to teach my students.
S1: Jerry Jaden , it's been a pleasure. Thank you both for joining us.
S3: Thank you for having us.
S6: Thank you so much for having me.
