Kelly McBride
Senior Vice President and Chair of Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership
Poynter Institute
Kelly McBride is a journalist, consultant and one of the country’s leading voices on media ethics and democracy. She is senior vice president and chair of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership at The Poynter Institute, where she guides professional news organizations in the best practices for serving citizens, building trust and elevating democracy. She also serves as NPR’s Public Editor. In that role, she and her team listen to audience feedback and hold NPR accountable to their mission to serve the American public. In a previous life, Kelly was a newspaper reporter covering crime and religion. She’s worked as a public editor at ESPN and co-edited the book, The New Ethics of Journalism: Guiding Principles for the 21st Century. She lives with her family in St. Petersburg, FL.
Best practices for reporting through social media during a mass shooting
With each new mass shooting or terrorist attack, the norms of reporting and publishing information…
To tell the stories of sexual assault victims, it’s time for a new look at anonymity policies
The Daily podcast did this very clever thing with the audio from the women and…
How to write about Nazis
I was 22 when I covered my first skinhead march as a cops reporter in…
Why it’s important to name the shooter
Note: Poynter originally published this story on Oct. 2, 2015. Public officials and advocates for…
Poynter building, staff, good so far
We’re fine and scrappy. That’s the report from the Poynter Institute. As Hurricane Irma approached,…
Introducing Poynter’s new ethics policy
We spent much of this summer at Poynter refining our ethics policies. It was time-consuming,…
The New York Times killed the public editor job just when it’s needed most
No, New York Times! Not the public editor! Why, with trust in news organizations at…
Fox News’s retraction is a woefully inadequate response to its colossal mistake
The family of murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich may have applauded Fox News’ “retraction,” but…
Don’t call Steve Stephens ‘The Facebook Killer’
We in the media love nicknames for notorious people. Often, these names are associated with…
Trump’s speech should remind journalists that tone matters
The news cycle this morning is breathing a collective sigh of relief: President Donald J.…
Should you broadcast Sean Spicer’s press conference?
Given Sean Spicer’s first White House press conference, where he said things that were demonstrably…
BuzzFeed drops a Trump bombshell, irresponsibly
As CNN reported on a private intelligence report claiming that Russia has dirt on President-elect…
Journalists, it’s time to get back to work
Sometimes the worst thing happens. And it’s no secret that for many journalists and just…
Trying to cover drug addiction? Don’t share photos of passed-out victims
Police in Hope, Indiana this week released a photo of a 25-year-old mom who overdosed…
Start your day informed and inspired.
SubscribeGet the Poynter newsletter that's right for you.
Media Jobs
Advertise a job