Our weekly roundup of news found at the intersection of media, politics, policy and technology, from the Shorenstein Center and from around the web.
This Week at the Shorenstein Center
Theodore H. White Lecture on Press and Politics with Larry Wilmore. Comedian, producer and writer Larry Wilmore brought laughs and his perspective on the election to HKS this week during the annual Theodore H. White Lecture. Read about highlights of his talk in the Harvard Gazette, and watch video or listen to a podcast with his full remarks. As part of the event, the David Nyhan Prize for Political Journalism was also awarded to Nancy Kaffer of the Detroit Free Press for her coverage of the Flint, Michigan water crisis.
What Comes next for Journalism, Facebook? Nicco Mele, Shorenstein Center director, writes in Nieman Reports that in the wake of the 2016 election, local journalism is even more crucial, and “to get beyond celebrity- and pundit-driven news, newsrooms need to become civic reactors—hubs of community information and activity.”
He also weighed in on the responsibility of Facebook, and whether it is a media company in The Verge. “If you shape public opinion, you do have special responsibilities…It’s why we have the Pulitzer Prize, to motivate better behavior, and why, ultimately, we had the Fairness Doctrine.”
Remembering Gwen Ifill. “She changed what was normal in Washington,” said Alex S. Jones, then director of the Shorenstein Center, when Ifill received the Goldsmith Career Award in 2009. Watch the video and read the transcript from the awards ceremony, when Ifill delivered the keynote speech.
News from Our Fellows
Political Realities That Got Donald Trump Elected Should Shock Us into Action. Derrick Z. Jackson, fall 2016 Joan Shorenstein Fellow, writes that the strategy that got Trump elected capitalized on a weakened Voting Rights Act.
What Does the Election Mean for Women in Politics? Judy Woodruff, fall 2005 fellow, leads a conversation with Goldie Taylor of The Daily Beast and Missy Shorey of Maggie’s List.
Farewell, America. Neal Gabler, fall 2011 fellow, writes that after the 2016 election, “no more can we pretend that we are exceptional or good or progressive or united. We are none of those things.”
Improving Coverage after the Election
Journalism Organizations Call on Trump to Uphold Traditions of White House Coverage, from Poynter.
Eight Steps Reporters Should Take before Trump Assumes Office, from Columbia Journalism Review.
The U.S. Media Is Completely Unprepared to Cover a Trump Presidency, from The Atlantic.
Why Journalism Educators Need to Look at Our Responsibilities Post-Election, from MediaShift.
After Trump’s Win, News Organizations See a Bump in Subscriptions and Donations, from Nieman Lab.
I Looked at 2 Years of Front Pages. Trump’s Muslim Ban Got Far Less Attention Than Clinton’s Emails, from Vox.
Press Freedom
Where Will Trump Stand on Press Freedoms? From The New York Times.
Our First Amendment Test Is Here. We Can’t Afford to Flunk It. From The Washington Post.
Press Worries over President-Elect Trump, from The Hill.
News & Diversity
Spread Your Masthead across the Country, and Other Ideas to Prevent Groupthink, from Poynter.
Why Journalism Has a Rural Diversity Challenge, from MediaShift.
Whites More Likely Than Nonwhites to Have Spoken to a Local Journalist, from Pew Research Center.
Fake News & Social Media
Viral Fake Election News Outperformed Real News on Facebook in Final Months of the U.S. Election, from BuzzFeed News.
Google’s Top News Link for ‘Final Election Results’ Goes to a Fake News Site with False Numbers, from The Washington Post.
Google, Facebook Move to Restrict Ads on Fake News Sites, from Reuters.
Mark Zuckerberg is in Denial, from The New York Times.
Facebook’s Problem Is More Complicated Than Fake News, from The Conversation.
The Tech White Power Used to Go Viral, from The Atlantic.
Twitter Cracks Down, Banning Prominent Alt-Right Accounts, from BuzzFeed News.
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