A few months back, an interviewer asked me what it was like to direct coverage for a news site about the news. With a round of layoffs fresh in my mind — just one of many in 2023 — my answer was regrettably frank.
“I sometimes feel like we’re writing the slow obituary for the news industry,” I said.
It was indeed another tough year for the news business; the worst since the pandemic, in fact. But layoffs were just one thread in the tapestry of 2023, a year that had its bright spots and, yes, other major concerns, some old and some new. We worked to cover it all with context and care.
Here are a few of my favorite Poynter reads of the year. Some of them focus on those pressing issues. Others showcase the wide scope of our work, or the journalism world as a whole. We managed to sneak in a little fun, too.
This newspaper doesn’t exist: How ChatGPT can launch fake news sites in minutes
By MediaWise director Alex Mahadevan, published Feb. 3
ChatGPT landed with a kerplunk seemingly out of nowhere in late 2022 and burst into mainstream consciousness early this year. While early concerns focused on the artificial intelligence language model’s potential to write school papers or create false news stories, Alex thought bigger: What if bad actors used it to create fake news websites, complete with made-up bylines and a counterfeit history of the publication? The barrier for political operatives, lobbyists and ad dollar-chasing grifters to launch dubious news sites has never been lower. As one former White House official put it, “Okay I am freaked out.”
One brash request, 7 books, and 34 bits of advice for writers
By Poynter senior scholar Roy Peter Clark, published Feb. 7
Roy, who is sometimes called America’s writing coach, has written a lot of advice — some of it stemming from creative provenance. I doubt any of it has had weirder origins than this piece. A British reader of Roy’s books sent a handmade notebook, a self-addressed return envelope and $25, with a request that Roy fill the notebook with “key thoughts” from his latest book and mail it back. “At first, I was put off by the brashness of the request. But then I thought Why the hell not?” Roy wrote. The result was a benefit to us all: 34 useful writing tips from across Roy’s career as a coach.
Among journalists, shock at Dylan Lyons’ killing is coupled with a strong sense of ‘what if?’
By Poynter contributor Brian Stelter, published Feb. 23
Dylan Lyons, a 24-year-old Spectrum News 13 reporter, was gunned down Feb. 21 while covering the scene of a murder investigation. Photojournalist Jesse Walden was also critically injured. The news quickly reverberated in the U.S. journalism community, which was still grappling with the murder of Las Vegas Review Journal reporter Jeff German at the hands of a public official he had been covering (in addition to the dozens of other journalists killed worldwide in 2023). Brian wrote for Poynter about the work of local journalists often isn’t glamorous, but that “Lyons exemplified how local TV news is a glue that binds citizens and communities.” Unfortunately, he wrote, “It’s increasingly difficult to report the news without feeling like there might be a target on your back.”
How news organizations can responsibly report on the Nashville mass shooting
By Kelly McBride, Poynter senior vice president and chair of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, published March 28
Just weeks after Lyons’ killing, a 28-year-old carrying two AR-15-style firearms and a handgun shot and killed three students and three adults at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. Journalists have largely adopted policies to avoid giving undue attention to shooters and thus minimizing contagion or inspiring copycats, Kelly wrote, but circumstances around this shooting seemed to distract them from following those changes. Among her pieces of advice: Don’t use the shooter’s name, avoid using the term “manifesto,” and be cautious when reporting on mental health.
The Buffalo News was the crown jewel of Warren Buffett’s news empire. Now it’s just another Lee paper.
By media business reporter Angela Fu, published April 20
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett was once bullish on newspapers. He bought The Buffalo News from local owners in the 1970s and, even after he scooped up dozens of daily publications as part of his BH Media empire, kept the News separate and relatively independent. In turn, the News fared relatively well through the cuts and austerity measures of the 2010s. Then Buffett soured on newspapers. He sold all of his properties to Lee Enterprises in 2020. What resulted, as Angela meticulously reported in Poynter’s most ambitious report of 2023, was a painful period of retraction for a newspaper that had been spared the worst of the industry’s decline.
How The Daily Tar Heel designed the front page everyone is talking about
By Poynter contributor Amaris Castillo, published Aug. 30
The day after a shooter killed a member of the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and forced the whole campus into a frenzied lockdown, campus newspaper The Daily Tar Heel published a front page that captured the internet’s attention. The page features snippets of text messages sent to and from UNC students during the lockdown, beginning with big, bold text: “ARE YOU SAFE? WHERE ARE YOU? ARE YOU ALONE?” Amaris spoke with the Tar Heel’s editors about how they scrapped the day’s original front page, came up with the idea and took it to publication in a matter of hours.
A reporter made sure a retired police chief’s death didn’t go uncovered. Then social media attacked her.
By media business reporter Angela Fu, published Sept. 19
In the haze of breaking news, reporters can only use the information available to draft a story. Often, details emerge that bring more clarity, as was the case with the hit-and-run death of a retired police chief in Las Vegas. Review-Journal reporter Sabrina Schnur initially reported that the death was the result of a “bicycle crash.” Days later, details emerged that appeared to show it was an intentional attack. Schnur reported on that, too, but social media users, egged on by Elon Musk, reshared the original article to make a point about media bias. What followed, as Angela reported, was an intense bout of harassment. Schur was doxxed and called vile names, and received death threats — which the Review-Journal treated with extreme caution given the killing of reporter Jeff German less than a year earlier.
An illustrated guide to ‘pink slime’ journalism
By Poynter audience engagement producer Annie Aguiar, published Oct. 5
Among the more recent additions to journalism lingo, already rife with weird terms like nutgraf, dek and lede (or lead, I guess), is “pink slime.” Named after a meat byproduct, the term describes news outlets that publish poor quality reports that masquerade as local news. But don’t take my word for it … or anyone’s, for that matter. Instead, check out the excellent short comic that Annie created to explain the phenomenon. It’s part of a series of journalism comic explainers that we plan to offer more of in 2024.
How to avoid misinformation about the war in Gaza
By MediaWise director Alex Mahadevan, Oct. 9
As soon as the war between Hamas and Israel began, out-of-context images and videos started pouring into social media. Alex offered immediate and concise advice: Finding the original source is key. Try to find out who’s behind the information, what evidence there is and what other sources say. The best advice for avoiding misinformation is to simply avoid social media, but at least remember that you don’t have to share anything.
We’re not ready for a major shift in visual journalism
By Poynter faculty Tony Elkins, published Nov. 9
With a history of visual journalists being treated as second-class citizens in newsrooms in mind, Tony looked at how artificial intelligence use among journalists is growing and predicted an unfavorable future. “I worry visual journalists will have little say in the matter,” he wrote. While the industry agonizes over AI’s use in stories or headlines, “very few seem to discuss generative photos, illustrations, graphics or other visual elements.” And as newsroom cuts continue, visual journalism positions disappear or outlets with few resources start up, Tony wrote, “it’s possible, maybe even probable, that image generators will become the easiest path for news organizations to create visual elements. And that should be a major concern for everyone.”
But wait … there’s memes
By Poynter audience engagement producer Annie Aguiar, published throughout the year
You’ve probably seen Poynter’s memes on Instagram. In case you haven’t, here’s a list of a few top picks:
- journalism wrapped just dropped
- please please please for once in my life let me actually start writing when I want to
- surprise surprise
- happy october! the scariest thing of all is a potential lawsuit from a 2000s emo band because your newsroom tiktok had to jump on the “because tonight will be the night that i will fall for you” audio trend
I’ve also written about how they come together. But I needed to mention them again. Here’s why: I’m immensely proud of the work above. But I’d be willing to bet that collectively, the memes that Annie created this year earned far more engagement. Maybe they stir up something deep within us. Maybe they speak to journalists’ thirst for a little fun. Or maybe they’re just good memes, Brent.
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