When you work in local news, chances are you won’t be covering what’s happening on the front lines of international conflicts. But those conflicts come home, through the people in our community who are most impacted, and through policies, protests and more.
This week, I want to share what my Poynter colleagues have been publishing about the horrific situation in Israel and Gaza.
The basics:
Last week, Al Tompkins and Kelly McBride published a guide on the history of the region, with details on Palestinians, Israel, Gaza, Hamas and more. You can find it here. Their guidance includes this: “While there are many sources of information, it’s important to recognize that both Hamas and the Israeli government have an interest in presenting their side of warfare. For journalists, the ethical principle of independence requires news organizations to be open to completeness and accuracy.”
Spotting fake news:
MediaWise’s Alex Mahadevan wrote this guide on avoiding misinformation. He writes “The war between Israel and Hamas has accelerated the spread of misinformation and broadened its reach due to graphic and emotional visuals, a deeply political conflict whose repercussions are felt around the world and a wealth of unreliable sources. It’s important to remember that you don’t have to share anything about the conflict on social media.” You can find it here.
Covering protests:
While local journalists might not see the front lines, they likely will cover protests with this story. McBride wrote about covering those protests, safety and navigating journalists’ own beliefs. That guidance includes this: “Your personal experiences cannot on their own disqualify you from covering a story. We start from the presumption that all journalists are capable of upholding our standards of fairness and accuracy, even when they have close ties to an issue.” You can find it here.
Graphic images:
Poynter’s Fernanda Camarena, who previously worked as a manager on NBC News’ standards and practices team, wrote about the work of standards editors who are deciding what graphic images to share in this story. She wrote: “While there may be some informal standards for handling sensitive images — such as news organizations adding a warning before airing or showing graphic content — there are no universal rules in the industry.” You can find that piece here.
The cost:
There’s already a huge human cost to this story, and it’s impacting journalists, too. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports “As of October 17, at least 15 journalists were among the more than 4,000 dead on both sides since the war began on October 7.” You can follow CPJ’s work here.
Tompkins also wrote last week about the toll nonstop coverage takes on mental health. This guide has what to look for and steps for managers and newsrooms to take care through this coverage.
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