Focusing on humanity when covering homelessness

How to focus on humanity when covering homelessness 

ProPublica reporter Nicole Santa Cruz traveled to Albuquerque to cover homelessness and the pervasive problem of unhoused individuals losing their possessions to the city’s clean-up crews. Lost items included everything from medication to government IDs and treasured family photos. She focused on the stories of those who had lost, asking interviewees, “What object was most devastating for you to lose, and how have you been coping?” 

One element that was important to telling the story in a humane way was using illustration instead of photography, she told Poynter. This, she said, would help focus the attention on their voices and not photographs of them at low points in their lives. 

News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.

Civic Discourse & Democracy

>> A judge ordered us to turn over privileged documents. We’re appealing to the Mississippi Supreme Court. (Mississippi Today)

Last year, Mississippi Today was sued by the state’s governor for defamation, and a court deemed that the news outlet was required to turn over all documents related to its investigation into the governor’s action. Mississippi Today has appealed to the state Supreme Court, and asked for a stay while the appeal is decided. 

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Culture & Inclusion

>> API kicks off Local News Summit on Rural Journalism, Community and Sustainability 

We gathered more than 60 media leaders and non-journalism experts to examine how they embrace their role as community conveners. In many communities, people see reporting by news outlets as about rather than for them. So how can your organization help communities engage with one another?

>> Black Americans believe the news media was designed to hold them back (Pew Research Center)

More than half of Black Americans (52%) say the news media was designed, at least somewhat, to “hold Black people back.” Almost all Black Americans (88%) say they have come across inaccurate information about Black people in the news, and 72% of those people say they believe these inaccuracies were deliberately created. 

>> Join us: Learn how Source Matters can support your newsroom’s efforts to understand your community 

If your news organization is interested in tracking the diversity of your sources, API is hosting a virtual demonstration of its Source Matters tool at 1 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 13. Sign up for access to the session here.

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Community Engagement & Trust

>> Dark money news outlets outpacing local daily newspapers (Axios)

A new report from NewsGuard found that there are at least 1,265 “pink slime” partisan-backed outlets that appear to be local news — and only 1,213 daily newspapers in the U.S. 

>> Trust Tip: Adapt your products for news avoiders in three ways (Trusting News)

Most people don’t consume as much news as we produce, but news outlets can focus on prioritizing high-utility content, making the news feel more accessible and help people feel easily caught up. 

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Revenue & Resilience

>> Independent publishers showcasing different business models in Portugal (The Fix)

Portugal has no infrastructure for philanthropic or public funding for independent news outlets, but news outlets are exploring their own models. Several rely on international grants, though investigative newsroom Fumaça is increasing its audience contributions. 

>> New from API: 4 ways The News Reporter generated new digital revenue through email newsletters (Better News)

Here’s an idea to steal and adapt: Build your audience with “daily briefing” emails, then leverage that audience for additional advertising and subscription revenue.

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What else you need to know

🌴 California lawmakers revive debate over bill requiring tech platforms to pay for news (Los Angeles Times)

🪧 New York Times, Reuters journalists clash with news union (Semafor) 

🫱🏽‍🫲🏿 OPB names CNN digital leader Rachel Smolkin as new chief executive (OPB) 

📰 The Baltimore Sun has begun publishing articles from Sinclair Broadcast Group (Washington-Baltimore News Guild) 

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