November 2021
[link removed]
[link removed]
Media representatives follow the U.N. IPCC climate report presentation, in Stockholm, in Sept. 2013. When covering science issues, like climate change, journalists should bring more nuance to their reporting (TT News Agency, Bertil Enevag Ericson/AP Photo)


** From the senior editor
------------------------------------------------------------

If you're anything like me, you've been watching the news about the Omicron variant with a mix of concern, dread, and an impatient need for more information. I've spent the last several days scouring my usual news suspects — The New York Times, The Washington Post, Science magazine, epidemiologists I trust on Twitter — to get a sense of what the next phase of the pandemic might look like.

As I've searched for clues about Omicron, I've had Robert Frederick's latest column for Nieman Reports tucked away in the back of my mind. His advice for journalists — to be more transparent around the uncertainty that is inherent in all scientific research — has also helped me navigate the vast reservoir of stories generated in just the last few days. As I read each offering I click on, I'm now searching for the caveats that Robert advocates ([link removed]) should be in every story.

With the pandemic now grinding into its 21st month, we've seen the experts try to get a handle on what the coronavirus is, how it spreads, which variants might become dominant strains, and the best steps for mitigating it. At the beginning, there was much confusion, each development breathlessly covered by journalists trying to deliver the most up-to-date information and, yes, beat their competitors with breaking social media updates. As researchers made new discoveries — and ultimately had to reverse themselves on issues like whether masks could stop the spread of Covid-19 — the very natural ebb and flow of the scientific process that journalists failed to adequately cover ([link removed]) was exploited by politicians looking to inject uncertainty for political gain.

"Journalists often use what I call journalistic caveats, or phrases such as 'a single study showed' or 'this research has not been peer reviewed,'" Robert writes. "Doing so, however, can project too much certainty about scientific results. For when newly reported scientific results contradict previous ones, the resulting whiplash contributes to public distrust and even cynicism about science and journalism. For the biggest stories in science — Covid-19 and climate change — that distrust and cynicism can be deadly."

I hope you'll take a moment to share with me the stories you've found useful — or perhaps even ones you've written or produced — to help guide you through the pandemic. You can reach me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you!

All the best,

Laura Colarusso
Senior Editor
Nieman Reports

[link removed]


** Lessons From The Pandemic ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

With the new Omicron variant, a return to a pre-pandemic “normal” looms farther. But can, or should, journalism return to “normal?” Nieman Reports explores this question in the Summer-Fall 2021 issue

Read more ([link removed])

[link removed]


** Interviewing Jane Roe: How Joshua Prager Humanized One of the Most Famous Supreme Court Cases in History ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

The Nieman alum on how he got the family behind the case — including Baby Roe — to talk with him for his latest book, “The Family Roe”

Read more ([link removed])

[link removed]


** Tackling the Information Crisis: Why News is Essential to Sustainability ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

By bringing newsrooms closer to their communities we can create business models that tie social impact to financial success

Read more ([link removed])


** More from Nieman Foundation publications:
------------------------------------------------------------

[link removed]
How to tell a good story, from Stephen Sondheim: Hummable helps ([link removed])

Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri pays tribute to the musical theater genius and "artifice (that) is in service of a higher truth."

Read more from Nieman Storyboard ([link removed]) .

[link removed]
Now nonprofit, The Salt Lake Tribune has achieved something rare for a local newspaper: financial stability ([link removed])
The Salt Lake Tribune’s transition to nonprofit status has been closely watched in the news industry. “The opportunity for us to prove that this can work is significant and so is the responsibility.”

Read more from Nieman Lab ([link removed]) .
Read more from Nieman Reports ([link removed])
View this email in your browser. ([link removed])

============================================================
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
Copyright © 2021 Nieman Reports, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the Nieman Reports email newsletter.

Our mailing address is:
Nieman Reports
1 Francis Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.