DIVERSITY SHOP TALK
A reminder that our next shop talk is at 1200 UTC on TUESDAY DECEMBER 6th
Here is the zoom link, which I will email to everyone again a few days before the talk:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81137929546?pwd=V3lMTktQS3BMYWk0eTFCZ2dWUVluUT09 Meeting ID: 811 3792 9546 Passcode: 395659
The talk will cover the importance of promoting newsroom diversity. Agence France Presse has recently established the role of Diversity Editor. The position has been filled by Jessica Lopez, who carried out a major review of the diversity of coverage at AFP. Jessica reports to AFP’s Standards and Ethics Editor (and ONO member) Eric Wishart, and I am pleased to say that Jessica will be joining us at the shop talk to talk about her research and her ongoing role.
You can read more about her appointment here.
- ONO 2023 CONFERENCE
The Board is continuing to work on our plans for the 2023 Conference, so expect an announcement soon on dates, location and themes.
In the meantime, please do get in touch with us on newsombudsmenorg@gmail.com with your suggestions on topics and speakers.
- MEMBERSHIP DUES
Yes, it’s that time of the year again. This month, you should be receiving an email about dues for the coming year.
ONO operates largely on an unpaid, volunteer basis, but our fees are crucial in covering basic ongoing costs around our website, shop talks and basic administration. If you have any queries, questions or concerns about membership fees, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Executive Director Alan Sunderland by email to newsombudsmenorg@gmail.com
With a conference coming up in the first half of 2023, the membership dues will be particularly important to help defray some of the associated costs.
- THE ETHICS OF SPORT JOURNALISM
It’s an issue many of our members will be wrestling with at the moment – the challenges of covering the World Cup in Qatar, where politics and human rights issues are vying with the sport itself for attention and coverage.
At the extremes, there have been calls for a complete boycott of coverage of the World Cup in protest at human right’s abuses, as well as calls to forget all of that now and focus on the football.
In between those extremes, most media organisations are trying to strike the right balance. And, of course, most ombuds know they will inevitably face complaints over time about whether the right balance has been struck!
This article in Vanity Fair explores the issue in depth, and you can read a range of other perspectives here, here and here.
- TWITTER UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
The recent purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk has led to a storm of controversy over standards, policies and processes and many journalists have found themselves caught up in the debate.
Should the rules around cancellations and hate speech be changed? What do blue ticks mean now and into the future? Is it still an appropriate platform for journalists and media organizations to operate on?
The debate is far from clear, but there have been some interesting ethical discussions. The Tow Center examined the issue a couple of weeks ago, while this take focuses on the role of mainstream journalists on the platform.
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics specifically looked at one of the emerging alternatives to Twitter – Mastodon – and finally, to prove the debate about Twitter preceded the latest Elon Musk controversy, there is this article from Poynter.
- THE TEN RULES OF REPORTING
At the risk of indulging in some shameless self-promotion, ONO Executive Director Alan Sunderland would like to gently point out that he has a new book out.
“The Ten Rules of Reporting: Journalism for the Community” is intended to be a simple guide to the ethics of news reporting.
While it is hopefully of use to all journalists, it is particularly focussed on so-called “citizen journalists” who start up small local news services, mostly online, to fill the gaps left when traditional media closes down – an all too common problem.
The book is only available in print version in Australia, but e-book and audio versions can be accessed online anywhere.
- IN OTHER NEWS…
- VRT in Belgium has hosted an interesting debate about moderation on Twitter
- NPR in the US explores the fascinating question of how and why missing persons are covered in the news
- The Globe and Mail in Canada has this important piece on government transparency
- The latest bulletin from the Ethical Journalism Network has some great articles on covering conflict
