Information about our Oct. 20 Fall Conference is available at http://www.ninaonline.org/. Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and editor Deborah Nelson will deliver the evening's keynote address, and winners will be announced in 28 categories for our annual contest. The event runs from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20, at NIU-DeKalb.
Pricing has been simplified this year, to a flat $30 per person. (In previous years, the first participant from each newspaper was charged significantly more.)
Registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 11. The registration form is available on our website, or get it here.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Wanted: Your watchdog ideas
For the upcoming NINA newsletter, we're looking for examples of watchdog journalism your paper has done this year. Big stories, small stories ... if it served your readers and could work for other papers, let us know. Either comment below or e-mail me.
Shaw Newspapers becomes Shaw Media
Press release:
Shaw Newspapers becomes Shaw Media
SEPTEMBER 13, 2010 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DIXON, Ill. – Chief Executive Officer Tom Shaw announced today a change in name to Shaw Media, to better reflect the forward motion of this legacy company. The change goes into effect on October 10, 2010.
The Shaw brand has been synonymous with high-quality newspapers for more than 159 years.
The name change is necessary to more appropriately capture the company’s ongoing growth – both inside and outside of newspapers – and its strength in current and emerging forms of media.
“We decided to embrace a name more reflective of the company we have become – a vibrant, community-based, media organization that is well poised to meet the changing information needs of the communities we serve,” Chief Executive Officer Tom Shaw said. “Although newspapers are still at the core of what we do so well, our future will increasingly use various publishing platforms to provide our valuable products and services.”
Shaw Media also announced that three distinct elements of its brand promise would guide the company and serve as goals for its future.
“Our brand promise is to provide relevant information for all of our customers, create and aggressively sell marketing solutions for all our business partners, and to be aggressive community advocates for the areas we define as our markets,” Shaw said.
Shaw Media publishes 60 newspapers, magazines and websites across Illinois and Iowa. Benjamin Flower Shaw published the first issue of The Dixon Telegraph and Herald in 1851.
– 30 –
Contact:
Shaw Media, Tom Shaw, 815-284-4000
Shaw Newspapers becomes Shaw Media
SEPTEMBER 13, 2010 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DIXON, Ill. – Chief Executive Officer Tom Shaw announced today a change in name to Shaw Media, to better reflect the forward motion of this legacy company. The change goes into effect on October 10, 2010.
The Shaw brand has been synonymous with high-quality newspapers for more than 159 years.
The name change is necessary to more appropriately capture the company’s ongoing growth – both inside and outside of newspapers – and its strength in current and emerging forms of media.
“We decided to embrace a name more reflective of the company we have become – a vibrant, community-based, media organization that is well poised to meet the changing information needs of the communities we serve,” Chief Executive Officer Tom Shaw said. “Although newspapers are still at the core of what we do so well, our future will increasingly use various publishing platforms to provide our valuable products and services.”
Shaw Media also announced that three distinct elements of its brand promise would guide the company and serve as goals for its future.
“Our brand promise is to provide relevant information for all of our customers, create and aggressively sell marketing solutions for all our business partners, and to be aggressive community advocates for the areas we define as our markets,” Shaw said.
Shaw Media publishes 60 newspapers, magazines and websites across Illinois and Iowa. Benjamin Flower Shaw published the first issue of The Dixon Telegraph and Herald in 1851.
– 30 –
Contact:
Shaw Media, Tom Shaw, 815-284-4000
Friday, September 10, 2010
A Free and Responsible Student Press
Here's a piece by Randy Swikle that is offered as an op-ed column for any newspaper interested in publishing it.
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is disturbed by research showing our nation’s high schools are failing their students when it comes to instilling in them an appreciation for the First Amendment and civic issues.
“Civic education—and, with it, civic learning—has been in steady decline for decades,” she writes in the forward to Sam Chaltain’s new book, "American Schools: The Art of Creating a Democratic Learning Community." “As a result, too many young people today do not understand how our political system works, or how to be seen and heard in meaningful, effective ways.”
Arguably, the best measure of a high school’s commitment to civic education is the nature of its student news media. A student newspaper can provide the most visible evidence of whether schools just preach or actually practice First Amendment principles, democratic learning and significant civic engagement.
All high schools in America receiving Federal funds are required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution every Sept. 17, the anniversary of the signing of the document in 1787. On Constitution Day schools will offer special lessons about the principles of democracy and the virtues of American freedom. But beyond that talk, how many schools are actually doing the walk?
The student press is a telling sign.
If school authorities recognize their student newspaper as a forum that serves the functions of authentic journalism, if they nurture free and responsible student news media and if they trust the student press to provide a meaningful and effective way for students to be seen and heard, chances are, democratic learning is at the core of the school’s culture.
However, if school authorities want to control the student press rather than cultivate it, if they want students to learn obedience rather than responsibility and if they want to silence rather than share diverse—sometimes unpopular—perspectives, chances are, autocratic administrators are impeding the school’s civic mission.
Too many school authorities are too quick to censor controversial student expression that they disagree with, find discomforting, consider overly critical or otherwise object to for additional reasons. By exercising clout rather than collaboration, administrators demoralize and alienate learners. They may control the learners, but they sure don’t convince them.
Good schools support authentic journalism and democratic learning when they strike a proper balance between the press rights of students and the pedagogic responsibilities of educators. Students are empowered but not emancipated; educators are authoritative but not authoritarian; and the school culture is collaborative and not autocratic.
Help has arrived for proponents of civic education. A new initiative by the McCormick Foundation, supported by the Illinois Press Foundation, can help resolve student expression controversies while inspiring students and administrators to engage in dialogue that should enhance civic education, community engagement and ethical development.
Protocol for Free & Responsible Student News Media is a handbook to guide scholastic journalism stakeholders in ethical decision-making. The Protocol process can be used in other school arenas as well. The Protocol is the product of a two-day conference of 50 leaders from around the country representing students, educators, administrators, school board members, professional journalists, attorneys and a wide variety of organizations.
Here’s how the Protocol works:
Key principles and important questions relevant to the issue at hand are identified. The principles provide reference points on your moral compass, represent “what you stand for,” and guide you in ethical decision-making. The checklist of questions is a pathway to follow to resolve conflicting principles and to help determine your actions.
The protocol helps balance freedom and structure at school, prioritizes the merits of arguments above the rank of advocates and helps stakeholders find common ground. (See http://www.freedomproject.US/Education/Protocol.aspx to read the Protocol report.)
Sandra Day O’Connor believes in experiential learning: “Knowledge about our government is not handed down through the gene pool. Every generation has to learn it, and we all learn best by doing.”
Schools that practice democratic learning build civic responsibility, and no indicator is more telling of school commitment to democratic learning and civic engagement than the way administrators deal with the student press. Such an examination will reveal the correlation between rhetoric and reality.
Randy Swikle is state director of the Journalism Education Association and a member of the board of directors of the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association and the Illinois Press Foundation. He is a retired journalism teacher in Johnsburg, Ill.
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is disturbed by research showing our nation’s high schools are failing their students when it comes to instilling in them an appreciation for the First Amendment and civic issues.
“Civic education—and, with it, civic learning—has been in steady decline for decades,” she writes in the forward to Sam Chaltain’s new book, "American Schools: The Art of Creating a Democratic Learning Community." “As a result, too many young people today do not understand how our political system works, or how to be seen and heard in meaningful, effective ways.”
Arguably, the best measure of a high school’s commitment to civic education is the nature of its student news media. A student newspaper can provide the most visible evidence of whether schools just preach or actually practice First Amendment principles, democratic learning and significant civic engagement.
All high schools in America receiving Federal funds are required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution every Sept. 17, the anniversary of the signing of the document in 1787. On Constitution Day schools will offer special lessons about the principles of democracy and the virtues of American freedom. But beyond that talk, how many schools are actually doing the walk?
The student press is a telling sign.
If school authorities recognize their student newspaper as a forum that serves the functions of authentic journalism, if they nurture free and responsible student news media and if they trust the student press to provide a meaningful and effective way for students to be seen and heard, chances are, democratic learning is at the core of the school’s culture.
However, if school authorities want to control the student press rather than cultivate it, if they want students to learn obedience rather than responsibility and if they want to silence rather than share diverse—sometimes unpopular—perspectives, chances are, autocratic administrators are impeding the school’s civic mission.
Too many school authorities are too quick to censor controversial student expression that they disagree with, find discomforting, consider overly critical or otherwise object to for additional reasons. By exercising clout rather than collaboration, administrators demoralize and alienate learners. They may control the learners, but they sure don’t convince them.
Good schools support authentic journalism and democratic learning when they strike a proper balance between the press rights of students and the pedagogic responsibilities of educators. Students are empowered but not emancipated; educators are authoritative but not authoritarian; and the school culture is collaborative and not autocratic.
Help has arrived for proponents of civic education. A new initiative by the McCormick Foundation, supported by the Illinois Press Foundation, can help resolve student expression controversies while inspiring students and administrators to engage in dialogue that should enhance civic education, community engagement and ethical development.
Protocol for Free & Responsible Student News Media is a handbook to guide scholastic journalism stakeholders in ethical decision-making. The Protocol process can be used in other school arenas as well. The Protocol is the product of a two-day conference of 50 leaders from around the country representing students, educators, administrators, school board members, professional journalists, attorneys and a wide variety of organizations.
Here’s how the Protocol works:
Key principles and important questions relevant to the issue at hand are identified. The principles provide reference points on your moral compass, represent “what you stand for,” and guide you in ethical decision-making. The checklist of questions is a pathway to follow to resolve conflicting principles and to help determine your actions.
The protocol helps balance freedom and structure at school, prioritizes the merits of arguments above the rank of advocates and helps stakeholders find common ground. (See http://www.freedomproject.US/Education/Protocol.aspx to read the Protocol report.)
Sandra Day O’Connor believes in experiential learning: “Knowledge about our government is not handed down through the gene pool. Every generation has to learn it, and we all learn best by doing.”
Schools that practice democratic learning build civic responsibility, and no indicator is more telling of school commitment to democratic learning and civic engagement than the way administrators deal with the student press. Such an examination will reveal the correlation between rhetoric and reality.
Randy Swikle is state director of the Journalism Education Association and a member of the board of directors of the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association and the Illinois Press Foundation. He is a retired journalism teacher in Johnsburg, Ill.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Panel: Watchdog Journalism Survives, But Fewer Are Doing It
Large newspapers with a long tradition of investigative reporting likely will continue that tradition, regardless of whether it’s in print or online.
Of great concern, though, is the capacity for smaller community newspapers to serve as watchdogs when they barely have the resources to produce their product at all.
Those were among the opinions expressed June 17 during a panel discussion at the Union League Club in Chicago, focusing on the future of watchdog journalism. The sentiments were echoed this summer in an online survey of NINA journalists.
George Papajohn, deputy managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, responded to an audience question about whether social media is changing the standards for investigative reporting – particularly, what’s published and when.
“The same standards apply,” Papjohn said. “We are scrupulous. We are careful. The stories that need the extra time get the extra time. To us, that credibility is essential to our survival and to everything we do. Nothing we do in the future will matter if we lose our credibility. So every day when we examine stories – whether they are short-term, mid-term or long term, we’re applying very high standards to them.”
Kurt Gessler, Interactive Media editor for the Daily Herald, said deadlines and the pressure to publish incomplete information are less of a factor in investigative stories.
“We have six or seven irons in the fire, and when it’s ready is when we’ll publish it,” Gessler said, adding that misleading or inaccurate reporting could reduce news organizations’ credibility to the level of their untrained competitors.
“With all the different voices out there, you cannot tarnish your brand,” he said. “There’s been this flight to quantity. At some point there will be a flight to quality. And the media outlets that have stayed true to their audiences and to their beliefs will exist in some form. So on those types of stories, I don’t see any lapse. The breaking news stuff, we have clearly become quicker and dirtier at. We are a lot more radio-ish, a lot more television-ish. We get stuff out and then tweak it. That’s where I see the quality eroding more.”
However, the story changes in smaller communities, several panelists said. When community papers can’t afford to do investigative work, there’s not much profit motivation for out-of-town competitors, either, said Polly Smith, Money and Business editor for the Chicago Sun-Times.
“In the suburbs, there’s no competition (for investigative stories) from the smaller papers – the five-day-a-week or weeklies,” Smith said. “They’ve been decimated. They can’t cover everything. And so because there’s no competition from them, we can sit back and not worry about it. … That worries me more than anything.”
The Internet culture and the perceived demand for up-to-the-second news can work against watchdog reporting, too, said Jim O’Shea, co-founder of the online-only Chicago News Cooperative and a former executive at the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times.
“A news organization’s job is still, at the end of the day, to step back and put the events of the day in context,” O’Shea said. “And I fear that sometimes the competition to get audience on the Internet creates a situation in which people have a tendency to scream rather than just talk in a calm voice. I’ve spent my entire life encouraging people to do investigative journalism and good journalism and beat reporting … to be the voice of reason and keep things in context.”
The panel was sponsored by NINA and moderated by executive director Dirk Johnson.
Thoughts from the trenches
This summer, an unscientific survey of reporters and editors from NINA newspapers showed a range of watchdog journalism occurring. Some produce multiple stories every month. More than half said their paper does no watchdog reporting whatsoever.
The survey got only 10 responses – not a large enough sample to indicate trends. But some of the comments reveal the tension caused by newspapers’ responsibilities on one side and limited resources on the other.
One editor wrote that investigative work used to be routine for most reporters, but that today’s staffing levels make that difficult.
“We still try to allocate time for everyone to have at least one project in the pipeline,” the editor wrote. “We can’t do them as often as we once did, but I’m hopeful that will change with the economy. Until then, we need to keep them on the radar.”
Another editor said the paper does afford reporters time for long-range stories, “although there are few takers. More push is needed and support from editors.”
Another paper searches for creative solutions. “As the staff has shrunk, it’s become a greater challenge,” an editor wrote, “but we work in time for reporters to chip away at projects. Interns and free-lancers are a huge help in getting day-to-day items covered to free up some time for staffers to do this. Sadly, but candidly, it’s probably also resulted in more of our inside copy being press release rewrites, but something has had to give.”
Several reporters said they are too buried in day-to-day work to do investigative stories.
“We work under a quota of two stories a day because of our small size staff – only three reporters for a community of 35,000 not counting other surrounding areas,” one wrote. “Because of the quota it makes it difficult to hold stories or devote to more in depth types of investigation.”
The survey concluded with this question: Given our industry’s reduced workforce and limited financial resources, what suggestions would you give to editors and publishers about how newspapers can increase their amount of watchdog reporting?
Some of the responses:
Of great concern, though, is the capacity for smaller community newspapers to serve as watchdogs when they barely have the resources to produce their product at all.
Those were among the opinions expressed June 17 during a panel discussion at the Union League Club in Chicago, focusing on the future of watchdog journalism. The sentiments were echoed this summer in an online survey of NINA journalists.
George Papajohn, deputy managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, responded to an audience question about whether social media is changing the standards for investigative reporting – particularly, what’s published and when.
“The same standards apply,” Papjohn said. “We are scrupulous. We are careful. The stories that need the extra time get the extra time. To us, that credibility is essential to our survival and to everything we do. Nothing we do in the future will matter if we lose our credibility. So every day when we examine stories – whether they are short-term, mid-term or long term, we’re applying very high standards to them.”
Kurt Gessler, Interactive Media editor for the Daily Herald, said deadlines and the pressure to publish incomplete information are less of a factor in investigative stories.
“We have six or seven irons in the fire, and when it’s ready is when we’ll publish it,” Gessler said, adding that misleading or inaccurate reporting could reduce news organizations’ credibility to the level of their untrained competitors.
“With all the different voices out there, you cannot tarnish your brand,” he said. “There’s been this flight to quantity. At some point there will be a flight to quality. And the media outlets that have stayed true to their audiences and to their beliefs will exist in some form. So on those types of stories, I don’t see any lapse. The breaking news stuff, we have clearly become quicker and dirtier at. We are a lot more radio-ish, a lot more television-ish. We get stuff out and then tweak it. That’s where I see the quality eroding more.”
However, the story changes in smaller communities, several panelists said. When community papers can’t afford to do investigative work, there’s not much profit motivation for out-of-town competitors, either, said Polly Smith, Money and Business editor for the Chicago Sun-Times.
“In the suburbs, there’s no competition (for investigative stories) from the smaller papers – the five-day-a-week or weeklies,” Smith said. “They’ve been decimated. They can’t cover everything. And so because there’s no competition from them, we can sit back and not worry about it. … That worries me more than anything.”
The Internet culture and the perceived demand for up-to-the-second news can work against watchdog reporting, too, said Jim O’Shea, co-founder of the online-only Chicago News Cooperative and a former executive at the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times.
“A news organization’s job is still, at the end of the day, to step back and put the events of the day in context,” O’Shea said. “And I fear that sometimes the competition to get audience on the Internet creates a situation in which people have a tendency to scream rather than just talk in a calm voice. I’ve spent my entire life encouraging people to do investigative journalism and good journalism and beat reporting … to be the voice of reason and keep things in context.”
The panel was sponsored by NINA and moderated by executive director Dirk Johnson.
Thoughts from the trenches
This summer, an unscientific survey of reporters and editors from NINA newspapers showed a range of watchdog journalism occurring. Some produce multiple stories every month. More than half said their paper does no watchdog reporting whatsoever.
The survey got only 10 responses – not a large enough sample to indicate trends. But some of the comments reveal the tension caused by newspapers’ responsibilities on one side and limited resources on the other.
One editor wrote that investigative work used to be routine for most reporters, but that today’s staffing levels make that difficult.
“We still try to allocate time for everyone to have at least one project in the pipeline,” the editor wrote. “We can’t do them as often as we once did, but I’m hopeful that will change with the economy. Until then, we need to keep them on the radar.”
Another editor said the paper does afford reporters time for long-range stories, “although there are few takers. More push is needed and support from editors.”
Another paper searches for creative solutions. “As the staff has shrunk, it’s become a greater challenge,” an editor wrote, “but we work in time for reporters to chip away at projects. Interns and free-lancers are a huge help in getting day-to-day items covered to free up some time for staffers to do this. Sadly, but candidly, it’s probably also resulted in more of our inside copy being press release rewrites, but something has had to give.”
Several reporters said they are too buried in day-to-day work to do investigative stories.
“We work under a quota of two stories a day because of our small size staff – only three reporters for a community of 35,000 not counting other surrounding areas,” one wrote. “Because of the quota it makes it difficult to hold stories or devote to more in depth types of investigation.”
The survey concluded with this question: Given our industry’s reduced workforce and limited financial resources, what suggestions would you give to editors and publishers about how newspapers can increase their amount of watchdog reporting?
Some of the responses:
- “Keep scheduled news stories short and to the point; push for watchdog or other enterprise FIRST on a daily basis. You won’t always have it, but will leave everyone with an ongoing impression that it is important to pursue it. Something we are considering is a significant monthly bonus for the best watchdog report (hoping reporters will find ways to find time if given additional monetary motivation).”
- Watchdog journalism is not only good journalism, it sells papers. Good managers understand this.
- We all talk about ‘limited financial resources,’ but there has got to be some way occasionally to reward reporters for superior work. And I mean beyond a pat on the back. Maybe it’s a bartering thing – like giving some free advertising to a department store, and then having a supply of $100 or $200 gift cards to give as bonuses.
- “A little overtime could go a long way.”
- “Reporters and editors need to understand the watchdog role applies to every story that should always keep our readers’ interests in mind. The real question is, do we or can we find the time to dig into bigger issues? I think it can be done, regardless of staff size. It’s just a matter of planning and chipping away each day or each week. Two things are needed, however: reporters who have the desire (and frankly they seem hard to find) and editors who beat the drum. I think our readers want and expect the watchdog role, but might have given up expecting it.”
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Survey: Watchdog journalism at your paper
As a follow-up to last month's panel discussion in Chicago, we're conducting a short survey on the state of watchdog journalism among NINA newspapers, and we'd love to see your thoughts. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2NDGFJK All responses are anonymous.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Scholarship winners
Bartlett High School Seniors Kourtney Liepelt (left) and Allison Prang took third and first place, respectively, in NINA’s annual journalism scholarship competition for graduating high school seniors. Pictured (from left) are Kerry Lester, a staff writer with the Daily Herald; scholarship winners Liepelt and Prang; and NINA President Mike Cetera of the Beacon News in Aurora. The Daily Herald also contributed scholarship money to the winners.
Full story on our scholarship winners
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