On the road again: Takeaways from ISOJ, IJF and NAB
Why traveling–despite its challenges–helps us better do our jobs
“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” –Samuel Johnson
It is the nature of my job–and that of my colleagues on the Journalism team–to spend a lot of time on the road. Knight has more than 100 active grantees, dozens of Knight Chairs and Carnegie-Knight deans and many organizations we talk with about potential grants. We visit many of these organizations in person, and also attend a bevy of conferences where these groups come together. To be an effective shepherd of the Knight brothers’ investment, it is crucial we get out there to see and hear the impact of our work.
The past two weeks have shown that value, as I enjoyed a 10-day whirlwind trip from Austin to Las Vegas to Italy to attend three different journalism conferences. At each, I was able to spend a few days focused on relatively narrow topics rather than jumping all over the place. In a job with so many moving parts, focus is truly a gift.
Two of the three conferences I attended had a significant international focus: the International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ) at the University of Texas and the International Journalism Festival (IJF) in Perugia, Italy. Not surprisingly, the protection of journalists around the globe was discussed at both conferences. ISOJ featured a terrific panel of journalists discussing the perilous conditions for media in their countries. There were a number of strong IJF panels on journalist safety, including one on how governments are using the law as a weapon against journalists. It was sobering to chat afterward with Matthew Caruana Galizia, the son of a prominent Maltese journalist who was murdered in a car-bomb explosion in 2017. Matthew now runs the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation in honor of his mother, and talking to him provided a reminder of the importance of protecting journalists at home and abroad.
Although Knight’s funding is almost completely based in the United States, we have been long-time funders of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), and keeping journalists safe remains a foundation priority.
It was also interesting to hear at ISOJ and IJF how journalists in other countries are using AI and newer technologies and tools impacting journalism. At ISOJ, Knight’s Marc Lavallee hosted a terrific panel (OK, I may be biased) about why journalists need to embrace AI. At IJF, there were a number of panels discussing the unique legal challenges facing our journalist colleagues overseas.
Because the U.S. is Knight’s primary focus, it is all too easy for us to overfocus on what happens here, and that’s part of the reason we travel: to avoid getting too comfortable with our belief set. Bubbles are always dangerous; they are especially dangerous in changing times.
Switching the channel….
The third conference I attended on this trip was the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas. Sandwiched between ISOJ and IJF, NAB also provided an opportunity to go deep in an area where Knight has an interest in doing more funding. (By the way, if you want to experience a jarring shift in scenery, try going from a massive convention hall in Las Vegas to a mountain town in Italy in 24 hours).
I spent two days in Vegas meeting with leaders of individual station groups and NAB executives to discuss a variety of topics, especially streaming strategies and ATSC 3.0 (also called “next-gen TV”), which introduces digital, Internet Protocol-based data into broadcast transmissions. According to BIA Advisory Services, ATSC will generate revenues approaching $5 billion by 2027.
ATSC 3.0 will also allow broadcasters to more finely target geographic areas with relevant content, and the executives I talked to saw significant opportunities there, some of which would potentially allow increased coverage of what we now call “news deserts.”
While local TV revenue is not cratering like newspaper revenue, there are signs of softening, hence the increased focus on new opportunities such as streaming and ATSC 3.0. But the power of local TV brands remains strong, and no form of local media is more trusted. In fact, it’s not even close, according to a 2022 Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
This is why we’re looking for opportunities to fund some experimentation in the broadcast space. And why NAB was another effort worthy of the required planes, trains and automobiles.
Other news around the horn…
Research
📺 Americans looking to public figures for news and information. According to a new study by Knight and Gallup, many Americans are now turning to individuals with public platforms (many on cable TV) for information and place a great deal of trust in these individuals. This change has been driven partially by drop-offs in trust in government, media and experts. The study asked more than 3,800 people to name the one public individual they watch or follow most often, and 900 different names were given, showing how fragmented the information ecosystem is today. Ironically, the name mentioned the most was one in the news over the past few days: former Fox News host Tucker Carlson (113 mentions). Carlson was followed by Rachel Maddow (107), Sean Hannity (57), Trevor Noah (57), Ben Shapiro (56) and Stephen Colbert (56). The list of the top 20 is included in Part 2 of the series. And, finally, Part 3 explains why respondents put their trust in these individuals.
🎙️AJP reports on pilot grants to public media. The American Journalism Project (AJP) wanted to test a hypothesis: Would investments in public media stations in mid-size cities help them become leaders in local news? AJP chose Louisville Public Media (LPM) and WFAE in Charlotte for its three-year pilot grants and just issued a midterm progress report. LPM had success raising $1.7 million for newsroom expansion, adding five newsroom employees and boosting the number of local stories, especially in politics. WFAE, meanwhile, has struggled to diversify revenues or increase original reporting. However, they were able to secure an event space to tell stories live. One challenge is that public media fans associate the stations with national content via NPR. “How do public media organizations reinvent themselves as vital local institutions whose editorial offerings have a tangible, positive impact on civic life while holding onto the trust their communities have invested in them?” the report asks.
🎧 People trust that voice in their ear. Unlike much of the news media, podcasts turn out to be mostly trusted by Americans, according to a recent Pew Research Survey. The survey found that 87 percent of people who listen to news on podcasts “expect the information they hear to be mostly accurate.” That’s not exactly Edward R. Murrow trust, but perhaps better than “random commenter on Facebook” trust. Nearly half (49 percent) of Americans listened to a podcast in the past year, and 67 percent say news was discussed on their podcasts. The majority, 55 percent, say they trust news on podcasts as much as news from other sources. Plus, 31 percent trust news on podcasts more than other sources, while only 15 percent trust it less. In Maron we trust.
Tech
🤖 The time for talk about AI is over. The time for task forces is now. This according to Digiday’s roundup of AI efforts at publishers such as BuzzFeed, Forbes and Trusted Media Brands to create internal task forces to figure out this new-fangled, ethics-challenged tech. BuzzFeed has an AI “brain trust” of a dozen people, though they won’t come from BuzzFeed News, which shut down last week. Forbes has a group of seven folks from various departments working on a policy. What will all this task forcing lead to? Maybe not replacing employees, but perhaps automating tasks and putting up much-needed guardrails. Of course there’s always someone who wants to rain on, and thereby electrocute, the AI parade. One anonymous exec told Digiday: “My CEO is f—ing obsessed with AI…but I’m not totally convinced.”
🛎️ How a Detroit TV station used Zendesk for engagement. A lot of startup tech companies have relied on Zendesk as a quick automated help desk for users. Now WDIV-TV in Detroit is using it to answer questions and boost engagement among its viewers, according to a report in the News Product Alliance newsletter. As with other Zendesks, the station’s version includes a chatbot that answers questions via a knowledge database, and if it doesn’t have an answer, journalists at the station can answer via chat. There are even commenting and message board features, helping WDIV’s audience create their own online community, with boosts during breaking news. The newsroom has solved 1,825 help desk tickets since last December, resulting in 20 on-air stories. “We're seeing a response from users that we don't often get—which is joyful exuberance,” said Dustin Block of Graham Media Group. “They're enthused about how fast we respond or that we responded at all and then we were able to help them.” Now that’s service journalism.
Impact
💰 Jacksonville Today turns newsletter subscribers into donors. We’ve heard a lot of success stories from last year’s NewsMatch, but this one is different. Jacksonville Today (or JAX TDY in its logo) is a new digital newsletter and website launched by WJCT Public Media in 2021. The outlet had never run an all-digital fundraising campaign until NewsMatch. The goal was to hit 550 donors (about 5 percent of newsletter subscribers) over a year, but they actually had 520 donors just last fall, giving an average of $93, with just under half of donors not having given previously to the station. According to a Better News profile, the big driver of donations was having reporters explain their passion for journalism and why they do the work. It didn’t hurt that they had triple matches for donations thanks to a local funder. Their advice for others? “Don’t be afraid to pivot, try new things, or employ new messaging mid-campaign—as long as you can test and track the results.”
⚖️ Open Vallejo learns of destroyed police records thanks to ProJourn. An innovative collaboration to provide local news publishers with pro bono legal help has paid dividends in Vallejo, Calif., where city officials destroyed records of police shootings before digital news outlet Open Vallejo could see them. Open Vallejo’s executive editor Geoffrey King said the investigation couldn’t have happened without legal support from ProJourn, a collaboration between the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), Microsoft, Davis Wright Tremaine and the Knight Foundation. “ProJourn has been absolutely transformative to our work,” said King, in a profile of the case on RCFP’s website. “It’s important to have powerful allies in the fight for truth.”
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Written by Jim Brady, with Mark Glaser
Edited by Jim Brady, Jessica Clark and Kara Pickman
A Knight + Dot Connector Joint
I'm grateful y'all are willing to travel and report back on what you learn. While reading of the many trips I feel hopeful that the foundation funds responsible carbon offsets that more than cover the carbon created by all common modes of travel. It would be wonderful for you to mention that when you report on your work travels. Especially as U.S. journalists, I think it's valuable for us to build in our part of collective responsibility for systemic de-carbonization at this critical juncture.