How can local journalists cover extremism?  Email not displaying correctly?
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Demonstrators march on the campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville in anticipation of the anniversary of the Unite the Right rally on Aug. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Hi and welcome to the last Local Edition for 2022. While teaching a course for early-career journalists ([link removed]) this fall, I learned about a new book from Gregory P. Perreault ([link removed]) , an associate professor of digital journalism at Appalachian State University. Perreault's book, which publishes Dec. 19, is entitled "Digital Journalism and the Facilitation of Hate." ([link removed])
He and I spoke via email for the class I taught in the fall, and I shared a Q&A about his work with them. To end our year, I'm sharing that conversation here.
It would be nice, I suppose, to end with some inspiring journalism or hopeful thoughts, but learning how to cover extremism without amplifying it feels like some of the most important work we'll take on next year.
I'll save the bright spots for January.
Here's our conversation:
How did this book come about? What led you to it?
Like many journalists, I followed the events of the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally with frustration as I watched journalists navigate a fraught reporting assignment. Journalists did not have the support they needed to navigate a live reporting situation in which bad actors were seeking to leverage journalism in order to legitimize and mainstream white nationalist disinformation. Over the past two years, I have had the opportunity to think deeply and evaluate the situations that often journalists cannot address in similar live reporting situations. Since those events, I've gathered more than 200 interviews with digital journalists on a range of topics to better understand how to address the bad actors who would like to twist the work of journalism.
What are some of the things you learned in reporting and writing it that surprised you?
The situations that continually surprised me were the sort of arbitrary rules imposed on many journalists in terms of their use of technology: for example, journalists being scolded for not doing their "daily Facebook Live" while reporting on a rally, and journalists chided for not engaging the hostile comments on a comment thread. Journalism, and particularly use of social media in journalism, is of course not a science. I was surprised to hear some of the newsroom-specific rules that put journalists in precarious situations that led to demonstrably poorer pieces of journalism.

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What skills do you think local journalists need to help spread awareness about nationalism and hate groups?
I'll point out two things in particular. First, recognizing the strategies of white nationalism: Everything from labels used (e.g. "alt-right") to the manifestos sent to journalists are not merely their presentation of "their side of the story" but tools employed to mainstream fringe ideas.
Second, we know that white nationalist groups use their rallies, marches as a means to leverage "live" journalism. The live shot has a ton of benefits for a ton of stories, but I would argue that journalists should think twice about employing the live shot in situations where they are covering rallies hosted by white nationalist groups. Live shots don't allow for context — they squeeze out background and analysis. Readers and viewers need both to help them understand the motivations and viewpoints associated with a white nationalism perspective.
What's one skill we should all be sharpening to do this?
The need for vetting sources is essential. White nationalist groups will use vaguely Christian or patriot terms to describe, define, and label their organizations. The Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center have some great tools to identify this rhetoric. According to an SPLC report earlier this year, many of these fringe ideas have moved into the political mainstream because hate groups are able to hold events and get the type of coverage they need to reach broader groups.
In addition, many journalists recognize disconnection – taking a measured step away from their reporting – as a skill for covering difficult topics.
We need to recognize that addressing the communication strategies of white nationalists is the hard work of journalism. Although the interviews and the research wear on the soul, someone needs to tear their rhetoric apart. That said, journalists need to pace themselves and get it right.
Can you recommend any reporters we should be following?
Seyward Darby ([link removed]) and Joe Heim ([link removed]) do phenomenal work. Darby's book "Sisters in Hate" ([link removed]) is superb.
That's it for me, and that's it for Local Edition for 2022. This newsletter will be back in your inbox in January. I hope the end of your year is easy and your newsroom potluck is delicious.
Kristen Hare
Faculty
The Poynter Institute
@kristenhare ([link removed])
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