… Journalism in the Time of COVID-19…
Dateline newsletter COVID-19 edition 2020, Vol. 1
Since last fall during the annual SPJ/RTDNA/NAHJ conference EIJ19 in San Antonio, the SPJ DC Pro Chapter has been looking forward to and planning for EIJ20 in Washington, D.C.
This conference will be over the top, we told ourselves. Everybody is coming to town, we’ve got to roll out an exceptional welcome, we said.
We gave out promotional badges featuring the EIJ20 logo to attendees at EIJ19, to remind them to plan on being in the nation’s Capital for next year’s gathering, where they will be in the thick of things in September as we march toward the November presidential election. And then we set about scheduling brainstorming sessions, in preparation for participating in planning sessions on the national SPJ level for determining speakers and topics for professional development sessions to go on the conference agenda.
And then, before we knew it, we were compelled to head down this road less traveled, to take an Undesired Snacks Detour to outmaneuver a novel coronavirus. It’s been a bumpy ride.
We hope that EIJ20 can still happen in the usual format, but await word on that.
Incidentally, the Snacks Detour has put us journalists on a path directly behind that novel coronavirus, COVID-19. In doing our jobs, we are compelled to cover and keep up with some aspect of the pandemic if not writing about it directly.
For DC Pro, the pandemic has provided an instant example of perils of blocked government information, what we call “Censorship by PIO.” When reporters have to go through a public information officer to talk to experts about the data in government reports, we and the public may never get to fully understand what is actually contained in those reports.
Part of SPJ DC’s response to situation created by COVID-19 response:
- Be sure to listen in to the Tuesday, May 5, SPJ webinar on navigating the COVID-19 crisis when that censorship is in play. Get more information and register using this link.
- If you are having some financial difficulties during this time, DC Pro is offering some dues relief, in line with what national SPJ has on offer for several months. See the national SPJ dues waiver request — for current SPJ members only — form here. DC Pro is accepting requests for local dues waivers from any current member in financial distress whose renewal comes due through September 2020. You’ll need to secure the dues waiver from national SPJ first. Then contact Immediate Past Chapter President Jonathan Make at spjdcchapter@gmail.com to have your local waiver request considered.
- DC Pro joined other groups in a letter to congressional leaders calling for increased whistleblower protections in light of the current public health crisis when so much vital information needs to get out — and so much public money has been allocated to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. See the text here.
- Kathryn Foxhall authored a DC Pro press release calling on the Trump administration to end restrictions on government health and science officials talking with reporters about the pandemic, and other topics of public interest. See the text here.
Those fleeting days of 2019 and the first three months of 2020 have passed in a blur for America and the world, turned upside down by a virus previously not identified by humankind …
‘Impeachment. Primaries. Kobe. Coronavirus rushed in while our focus was elsewhere,’ Los Angeles Times April 12
This Los Angeles Times article from April 12 captures the moments before this Snacks Detour began. DC Pro was right there in the thick of it. We were:
- Hearing New York Times reporter Amy Padnani talk about her Overlooked series of obituaries. (Story here.)
- Commenting on media coverage of the Kobe Bryant tragedy. (Story here.)
- Celebrating journalism achievements of a DC Pro journalism Hall of Fame member, the late Gwen Ifill. (Story here.)
- Focusing on local news, and hearing about the efforts behind news radio WTOP 103.5 FM coverage of the entire D.C., Maryland, Virginia metropolitan area. (Story here.)
Now the New York Times obit writers and other reporters have turned to COVID-19 victims. Telling their stories, in the Those We’ve Lost series, with some guidance from Amy Padnani.
And it’s still an election year!
Before we get to November, DC Pro has its own election. Click through to see who is on the slate for 2020-2021. Members in good standing will soon be emailed a ballot.
We hope you are staying safe and well.
Let us know what you are thinking or if you have questions: spjdcchapter@gmail.com