2020 will be the news cycle to end all news cycles. And while the presidential election looms large for most of us, it won’t eclipse or replace the everyday coverage our newsrooms are committed to. We’re in the business of expecting the unexpected — the inevitable tragedy of mass shootings, natural disasters and, for those of us in California, wildfires, power shutoffs, and earthquakes.
2020 is going to be rough. The wall that we all will hit eventually sits steadfast in the distance, and there’s no knocking it down — there’s no silver bulldozer. What we can do is take this moment as an opportunity to evaluate the newsroom cultures we’ve upheld, attempt positive change, and break some bad habits.
Journalism is an industry that values hard work; being “always on” isn’t a new concept for most of us. But our devices, digital platforms, and technological advances have amplified and evolved our “always on” culture to one that is “extremely online” — and it’s taking a toll. The mechanisms around digital news are changing constantly, and with that, so do the jobs, responsibilities, and viability of someone in a newer, less traditional role in the newsroom. Think about how defined the role of a “reporter” or “editor” can be compared to a “digital producer,” “news apps developer,” or “audience specialist.”
As a woman and/or a journalist of color working in one of these newer positions, on a more uncharted path, the ambiguity can mean a lack of support, and our industry-wide shortfall in diversity and inclusion can lead to a stressful level of loneliness. Not to mention, the diversity work to address these issues is being done outside of most people’s tangible responsibilities and often goes unacknowledged.
So, I want to focus on one thing we can all do for ourselves in 2020: Take 👏 breaks 👏. And if you’re in a position of power, model and facilitate the taking of breaks.
Managers: Going into the new year, we must be intentional about building and nurturing a culture that signals to the newsroom that it’s okay to take breaks. In order to contend with the pace — and trauma — of everything we’re reporting, we will need to find our journalists the space and time to cope.
At KQED, this means having conversations now about how we can start building for the fall crescendo. I’m looking at moving reviews earlier so that they don’t occur during peak election and wildfire seasons. I go on vacation and crow about the benefits of taking time off. I tell my team I want to see more paid time-off requests in my inbox. Across the newsroom, we have — and prompt — open discussions about self-care, our interests outside of work and the best hacks for unplugging.
The biggest, most intentional break I’ve started to take in my new role at KQED is self-imposed media blackouts, a short period of time with a clear start and end. And depending on what your vice apps are, if you just can’t delete ’em, turn off the notifications during this stretch. For me, it’s Slack, email, and Twitter.
Colleagues, peers, and teammates: Check in on each other. Find or create safe spaces where you can have candid and sincere discussions. Take those breaks! Leave the office — ask one another to lunch, coffee, or a walk. Use those vacation days! Whether or not you go on a trip, a mental and physical break from work is healthy and rejuvenating.
Let’s be honest: We’re terrible at taking vacations. On top of that, our concept of time is broken and our keyboards are disgusting. So while we’ve been planning coverage and staffing up for 2020, there’s another dimension to our strategies that will be more important than ever as the new year ramps up: our health, both mental and physical.
This prediction isn’t about emerging tech or a new trend. It just speaks to the oldest, most crucial tool we need to do journalism (🚨 earnesty alert): the journalists themselves. Let’s take better care of the people who do the work.
Julia B. Chan is managing editor of digital at KQED News in San Francisco.
2020 will be the news cycle to end all news cycles. And while the presidential election looms large for most of us, it won’t eclipse or replace the everyday coverage our newsrooms are committed to. We’re in the business of expecting the unexpected — the inevitable tragedy of mass shootings, natural disasters and, for those of us in California, wildfires, power shutoffs, and earthquakes.
2020 is going to be rough. The wall that we all will hit eventually sits steadfast in the distance, and there’s no knocking it down — there’s no silver bulldozer. What we can do is take this moment as an opportunity to evaluate the newsroom cultures we’ve upheld, attempt positive change, and break some bad habits.
Journalism is an industry that values hard work; being “always on” isn’t a new concept for most of us. But our devices, digital platforms, and technological advances have amplified and evolved our “always on” culture to one that is “extremely online” — and it’s taking a toll. The mechanisms around digital news are changing constantly, and with that, so do the jobs, responsibilities, and viability of someone in a newer, less traditional role in the newsroom. Think about how defined the role of a “reporter” or “editor” can be compared to a “digital producer,” “news apps developer,” or “audience specialist.”
As a woman and/or a journalist of color working in one of these newer positions, on a more uncharted path, the ambiguity can mean a lack of support, and our industry-wide shortfall in diversity and inclusion can lead to a stressful level of loneliness. Not to mention, the diversity work to address these issues is being done outside of most people’s tangible responsibilities and often goes unacknowledged.
So, I want to focus on one thing we can all do for ourselves in 2020: Take 👏 breaks 👏. And if you’re in a position of power, model and facilitate the taking of breaks.
Managers: Going into the new year, we must be intentional about building and nurturing a culture that signals to the newsroom that it’s okay to take breaks. In order to contend with the pace — and trauma — of everything we’re reporting, we will need to find our journalists the space and time to cope.
At KQED, this means having conversations now about how we can start building for the fall crescendo. I’m looking at moving reviews earlier so that they don’t occur during peak election and wildfire seasons. I go on vacation and crow about the benefits of taking time off. I tell my team I want to see more paid time-off requests in my inbox. Across the newsroom, we have — and prompt — open discussions about self-care, our interests outside of work and the best hacks for unplugging.
The biggest, most intentional break I’ve started to take in my new role at KQED is self-imposed media blackouts, a short period of time with a clear start and end. And depending on what your vice apps are, if you just can’t delete ’em, turn off the notifications during this stretch. For me, it’s Slack, email, and Twitter.
Colleagues, peers, and teammates: Check in on each other. Find or create safe spaces where you can have candid and sincere discussions. Take those breaks! Leave the office — ask one another to lunch, coffee, or a walk. Use those vacation days! Whether or not you go on a trip, a mental and physical break from work is healthy and rejuvenating.
Let’s be honest: We’re terrible at taking vacations. On top of that, our concept of time is broken and our keyboards are disgusting. So while we’ve been planning coverage and staffing up for 2020, there’s another dimension to our strategies that will be more important than ever as the new year ramps up: our health, both mental and physical.
This prediction isn’t about emerging tech or a new trend. It just speaks to the oldest, most crucial tool we need to do journalism (🚨 earnesty alert): the journalists themselves. Let’s take better care of the people who do the work.
Julia B. Chan is managing editor of digital at KQED News in San Francisco.
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John Garrett It’s the best time in a century to start a local news organization
Joshua P. Darr All that campaign cash will make the media’s problems worse
Kevin D. Grant The free press stands against authoritarians’ attacks on truth
Rachel Glickhouse Journalists get left behind in the industry’s decline
Colleen Shalby Journalists become media literacy teachers
Geneva Overholser Death to bothsidesism
Tom Glaisyer Journalism can emerge newly vibrant and powerful
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Ben Werdmuller Use the tools of journalism to save it
Greg Emerson News apps fall further behind
Jeremy Olshan All journalism should be service journalism
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Alexandra Borchardt Get out of the office and talk to people
Sarah Schmalbach Journalist, quantify thyself
Julia B. Chan We 👏 take 👏 breaks 👏
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Ståle Grut OSINT journalism goes mainstream
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Cory Haik We’re already consuming the future of news — now we have to produce it
Kerri Hoffman Opening closed systems
Whitney Phillips A time to question core beliefs
Peter Bale Lies get further normalized
Masuma Ahuja Slower, quieter, more measured and thoughtful
Mira Lowe The year of student-powered journalism
Heidi Tworek The year of positive pushback
S. Mitra Kalita The race to 2021
Jake Shapiro Podcasting gets listener relationship management
Linda Solomon Wood Everyone in your organization, moving toward a common goal
Matt DeRienzo Local broadcasters begin to fill the gaps left by newspapers
Eric Nuzum Podcasting finally creates another mega-hit show
Mary Walter-Brown and Tristan Loper Power to the people (on your audience team)
Alice Antheaume Trade “politics” for “power”
Felix Salmon Spotify launches a news channel
Matthew Pressman News consumers divide into haves and have-nots
Madelyn Sanfilippo and Yafit Lev-Aretz News coverage gets geo-fragmented
Meredith Artley Stronger solidarity among news organizations
Lauren Duca The rise of the journalistic influencer
Nico Gendron Make better products if you want to reach Gen Z
Elizabeth Dunbar Frank talk, and then action
Talia Stroud The work of reconnecting starts November 4
A.J. Bauer A fork in the road for conservative media
Annie Rudd The expanded ambiguity of the news photograph
Rick Berke Incoming fire from both left and right
Rachel Davis Mersey The business of local TV news will enter its downward slide
Nathalie Malinarich Betting on loyalty
Joe Amditis Collaborative journalism takes its rightful place at the table
Mike Caulfield Native verification tools for the blue checkmark crowd
Alfred Hermida and Mary Lynn Young The promise of nonprofit journalism
Tonya Mosley The neutrality vs. objectivity game ends
Cristina Kim Public media stops trying to serve “everybody”
Meg Marco Everything happens somewhere
Kourtney Bitterly Transparency isn’t just a desire, it’s an expectation
J. Siguru Wahutu Western journalists, learn from your African peers
Brian Moritz The end of “stick to sports”
Elizabeth Hansen and Jesse Holcomb Local news initiatives run into a capital shortage
Heather Bryant Some kinds of journalism aren’t worth saving
Alana Levinson Brand-backed media gets another look
Jonas Kaiser Russian bots are just today’s slacktivists
Jakob Moll A slow-moving tech backlash among young people
Fiona Spruill The climate crisis gets the coverage it deserves
Laura E. Davis Know the context your journalism is operating within
Joanne McNeil A return to blogs (finally? sort of?)
Rachel Schallom The value of push alerts goes beyond open rates
Barbara Gray Join local libraries on the frontlines of civic engagement
Jeremy Gilbert and Jarrod Dicker A call for collaboration between storytelling and tech
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Victor Pickard We reclaim a public good
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Jennifer Brandel A love letter from the year 2073
Errin Haines Race and gender aren’t a 2020 story — they’re the story
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Jim Brady We’ll complain about other people living in bubbles while ignoring our own
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Carl Bialik Journalists will try running the whole shop
Simon Galperin Journalism becomes more democratic
Carrie Brown-Smith Engaged journalism: It’s finally happening
Tamar Charney From broadcast to bespoke
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Irving Washington Leadership isn’t something you learn on the job
John Keefe Journalism gets hacked
Ernie Smith The death of the industry fad
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Monique Judge The year to organize, unionize, and fight
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Candis Callison Taking a cue from Indigenous journalists on climate change
Pablo Boczkowski The day after November 4
Margarita Noriega The platforms try to figure out what to do with single-subject newsrooms
Mario García Think small (screen)
Craig Newmark Formalizing newsrooms’ battle against disinformation
Doris Truong The year of radical salary transparency
Sue Robinson Campaign coverage as test bed for engagement experiments
Imaeyen Ibanga Let’s take it slow
Seth C. Lewis 20 questions for 2020
Francesco Zaffarano TikTok without generational prejudice
Catalina Albeanu Rebuilding journalism, together
Tanya Cordrey Saying no to more good ideas
AX Mina The Forum we wanted, the forum we got
Lucas Graves A smarter conversation about how (and why) fact-checking matters
Richard Tofel A constraint of the reader-revenue model emerges
Sarah Marshall The year to learn about news moments
Beena Raghavendran The year of the local engagement reporter
Christa Scharfenberg It’s time to make journalism a field that supports and respects women
Juleyka Lantigua A changing industry amps up podcasters’ ambitions
Bill Adair A Nobel Prize, a Brad Pitt film, and a Taylor Swift song
Bill Grueskin Our ethics codes get an overhaul
Sarah Stonbely More people start caring about news inequality
Don Day Respect the non-paying audience
Sarah Alvarez I’m ready for post-news
Emily Withrow The year we kill the news article
Cindy Royal Prepare media students for skills, not job titles
Knight Foundation Five generations of journalists, learning from each other
Michael W. Wagner Increasingly fractured, but little bit deliberative
Steve Henn The dawning audio web
Dan Shanoff Sports media enters the Bronny era
Jeff Kofman Speed through technology
Logan Jaffe You don’t need fancy tools to listen
Anthony Nadler Clash of Clans: Election Edition
Kathleen Searles Pay more attention to attention
Stefanie Murray Charitable giving goes collaborative
Monica Drake A renewed focus on misinformation
Josh Schwartz Publishers move beyond the metered paywall
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Helen Havlak Platforms shine a light on original reporting
Gordon Crovitz Fighting misinformation requires journalism, not secret algorithms