Covering Communities

Overcome Barriers

Are you stuck in bad habits?
It's easy to adopt master narratives for community coverage. At best, they provide incomplete coverage. At worst, they misrepresent the news.

A master narrative is a preconceived formula or "script" for a situation, an issue or a person.

Be diligent to avoid falling into the trap of adopting master narratives for your coverage.

To see how master narratives might influence your thinking, read this column from Leonard Pitts.

What's Your Bias?

All of us grow up with our own set of experiences, values and ideas about how the world works or should work. This may lead us to do journalism that others find biased.

Take a moment to uncover your preconceived views.

Use it now: Use the "training" materials on bias in your newsroom or classroom.

Listen to Rich

Richard Harwood typically talks about the three A's of public life. With journalism, he adds a fourth A: affection. Listen to his explanations here:

AUTHORITY

AUTHENTICITY

ACCOUNTABILITY

AFFECTION

Home > Key Insights > Act Publicly

Act Publicly

How credible is your journalism?
What does it take for a news organization to maintain credibility with the public?

The Harwood Institute discovered that people expect journalists to think and act publicly. Journalists who do this hold more credibility than those who don’t.

Through research and experience, Rich has identified four key elements to thinking and acting publicly. We call them "The Four As of Public Life."

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AUTHORITY. As a journalist, you have knowledge rooted in the community – an understanding of people, their lives, where they live, their aspirations and concerns. You use this knowledge to inform news judgments.

AUTHENTICITY. Your news coverage reflects the reality of people’s lives in the community. You genuinely listen to the community in an ongoing way. The community sees the wholeness of community life reflected in coverage.

ACCOUNTABILITY. You focus on issues that really mean something to people. You uncover and account for preconceived views about people and issues. You consistently deliver on your goals and aspirations for journalism.

AFFECTION. You call on the community to face up to tough issues but do this with care and compassion. The community believes you keep its best interest at heart. You act as part of the community as opposed to apart from it.

Consider The Four A's in your journalism.