From the editor
During the coronavirus pandemic, community and immigrant-facing news outlets have been a crucial source of service journalism to otherwise underserved populations. Since Covid hit, for example, Radio Indígena, in Central California, has been translating CDC guidelines into indigenous languages like Mixtec and Zapotec as well as Spanish for its often-undocumented audiences.
“Communities that have been hardest hit by the pandemic are probably not the communities reading the mainstream outlets,” as Daniela Gerson, assistant professor of journalism at California State University, Northridge, who’s studied how outlets like Radio Indígena are sustaining themselves, puts it.
Given the lasting impact of the pandemic, and America’s changing demographics, publications aimed at minority and immigrant communities are likely to become an even more crucial source of news and information in the future. Clio Chang explores how these newsrooms, which often report in languages other than English, serve local communities of color in ways that mainstream outlets are unable to.
One takeaway: While traditional media outlets face a crisis in trust, many community-based media outlets do not.
Speaking of trust… As part of Lessons from the Pandemic, our essay collection exploring whether journalism can — or should — return to a pre-pandemic normal, Mattia Ferraresi, managing editor for Italy’s Domani newspaper, reviews what newsrooms can learn about trust from coverage of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe. The series continues with pieces by Nieman Storyboard editor Jacqui Banaszynski on why journalists must resist the temptation to return to pre-pandemic rhythms and John Archibald, a columnist for the Alabama Media Group, on the hopes and fears around returning to in-person reporting.
Look for pieces on local newsrooms and political polarization, why visual journalists can’t go back to business as usual after the pandemic, the future of obituaries, and more in the weeks to come.
Sincerely,
James Geary
Editor, Nieman Reports
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