The Front Page: Six organizations that could use your support

An image of plants growing, meant to represent the growth of other media organizations.

It’s Friday, December 17th.

A quick note: We’ve written before about the importance of breaks. Our team is taking some time off through the end of the year, but we’ll be back with a newsletter on Friday, January 7, 2022.

Since publishing our first newsletter in summer 2020, we’ve asked for—and received—an extraordinary amount of support from our readers. As the year comes to a close, we’d like to highlight a few other organizations that could use your support, too.

While we aim to scrutinize and hold the journalism field accountable, we also aim to keep a close eye on organizations that aim to change the way we gather and consume information. These are just a fraction of a number of organizations we’ve seen do critical work to shift journalism and storytelling this year. We hope you’ll take a look at their work if you’re not already familiar.

Black Women Photographers
Launched in 2020, this global community supports Black women and nonbinary photographers across all experience levels with virtual and in-person workshops, portfolio reviews, and convenings. Support them here.

City Bureau
Hundreds of Documenters and fellows have been trained by City Bureau to create journalism that is “impactful, equitable, and responsive” for Chicago. Every month, the Bureau’s Public Newsroom makes space for a community conversation on local issues in a workshop setting. Support the m here.

Documented
By signing up for Documented’s WhatsApp newsletter—in English or Spanish—subscribers receive immigration news and can submit tips to reporters or questions to lawyers and other experts. Additionally, Documented’s glossary serves as a resource for reporters and readers alike. Support them here.

El Tímpano
Next year, El Tímpano hopes to expand its newsroom and language service, plus train community members to recognize and stop the spread of misinformation. Based in Oakland, the organization aims to inform and amplify the city’s Latino and Mayan immigrants, and began publishing in 2018 after gathering community feedback for nine months. Support them here.

PressOn
Working in the tradition of movement journalism, PressOn offers resources ranging from trainings to residencies for reporters and editors who want to collaborate with grassroots movements and support journalism created by historically marginalized people. Support them here.

Scalawag
Pursuing the dream of a “more liberated South,” this North Carolina-based magazine centers impact-focused community care while standing with oppressed communities. In addition to joining an assembly shifting the narrative about the South, Members get free access to all Scalawag events. Support them here.

— This issue is by Holly Rosewood with editing by Curtis Yee.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Books Every Journalist Should Read

Earlier this month, we asked you which newsrooms deserve recognition for their work challenging status quo journalism, centering their community, and working in partnership with that community.

We’re grateful for the chance to share some of your suggestions in this newsletter and speak with others in the future.

Next time, we’d like to know:

What practical New Year’s Resolution would you recommend to other journalists? How do you take care of yourself, on- or off-the-clock?

CLEAN SLATE

A bit more media

Q/A: Stephen Satterfield — The Objective spoke with Stephen Satterfield, founder of Whetstone Magazine and host of High on the Hog, about Black-owned food media and objectivity: “Those two things, at least historically, just don’t even belong in the same sentence.” Read the full interview here.

“An insurmountable obstacle” — The Sacramento Bee is launching the Clean Slate project, allowing people who have committed minor crimes to ask the paper to review stories about them in order to minimize harm. Other outlets, including The Boston Globe and The Lexington Herald-Leader, have enacted similar policies in recent years. The paper plans to accept applications starting next month.

Community in local media — El Tímpano’s community organizer tania quintana says a shift to “neighborhood-born news” could be the key to local media successfully informing and engaging with communities. “When we empower ourselves and each other to explore our senses and interests through engagement opportunities,” they explain, “we expand our collective knowledge and the longevity of our communities.”

“Facts that leave out context” — In her prediction for Nieman Lab, Kendra Pierre-Louis anticipates that outlets will continue publishing articles void of important details. Specifically, with recent COVID-19 coverage as proof of the shortfall, she predicts journalists will keep reporting on climate change without context, further isolating audiences from crucial information and, broadly speaking, democracy.

Platforming hate groups —Jean Guerrero writes that journalists play an active role in shaping the immigration debate by allowing anti-immigration hate groups to perpetuate a xenophobic agenda that many outlets claim to denounce. Related: When will journalists stop platforming white supremacists?

Hiring ‘diversely’ is not inclusion — In many cases, efforts to improve coverage by increasing newsroom diversity creates a power imbalance where nonwhite journalists are obligated to repair community trust after years of harmful reporting, writes Alex Sujong Laughlin. “This is an unfortunate rite-of-passage for most young journalists, especially those who come from underrepresented backgrounds.”

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Stay Up To Date

3 days until … The Lorde Society’s first reflective space. Black and Indigenous women and femme folks in media are invited to join the “intergenerational space for imagination, accountability, mutual aid, collective learning and practice, and power building through communal leadership.”

19 days until … Ask Me Anything: RJI Fellowship Program. Kat Duncan, director of innovation at the Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI), will answer questions about the organization’s fellowship program. Applications open January 3, 2022.

25 days until … the Solution Journalism Network’s next Solutions Journalism 101 Webinar. If you’re busy next month, you can register in February—trainings are held every month.

What events should we feature? You tell us. Reply directly or send an email to [email protected].

AND FINALLY

A few more resources

For your portfolio website: If you identify as a journalist with a background historically underrepresented in journalism, Authory will provide you with a free one-year account to back up your articles (a $96 value).