Summary of 👋 LNS22: Welcome and keynote address | Terrence McDonald and Ambreen Ali

00:00:00 - 00:40:00

In his keynote address at the NJ Monitor Editor Summit, Terrence McDonald discussed the challenges and opportunities facing the media industry, his optimism for the future, and the importance of journalistic integrity. He also discussed how he feels about the "both sides journalism debate," and how he makes decisions about what to publish.

• 00:00:00 The New Jersey Monitor is a new statewide nonprofit news organization that has made significant contributions to the political landscape of New Jersey during the pandemic. In the keynote speech, Terence McDonald discusses the importance of journalistic integrity and accountability, and discusses his experiences working at the New Jersey Monitor during the pandemic.
• 00:05:00 The speaker discusses how the decline in trust in the media has led to a decline in the quality of local news coverage, and how moving away from traditional advertising models and endorsements of political candidates could help to improve the situation. He also suggests that journalists should focus on providing news instead of relying on cheap entertainment stories and celebrity news.
• 00:10:00 The speaker in this video is a new editor at a non-profit newsroom and they discuss how their shift has been different from being a reporter. They explain that while reporters are focused on getting the story right, editors are more focused on how the story is going to be presented to the public. They say that for-profit newsrooms may want to focus on generating clicks instead of providing quality journalism, and that non-profit newsrooms don't have to worry about generating clicks since their main goal is to provide quality journalism.
• 00:15:00 The State's Newsroom is a new government organization that has been successful in covering stories that other news outlets have not. One of their recent stories involved prosecutors using a baby's blood sample to try to tie the father to a crime. Terrence McDonald, the founder of the State's Newsroom, says that despite not having a traditional revenue model, the organization takes care of fundraising themselves. He also says that he does not know the group's main donors, but that the State's Newsroom people do have a list of donors.
• 00:20:00 The speaker discusses the challenges of running a local newsroom in the age of online journalism and the need for journalists to be able to chase stories without feeling beholden to advertisers. He also discusses the importance of civic education in regards to the role of media.
• 00:25:00 In his keynote address at the NJ Monitor Editor Summit, Terrence McDonald discussed the challenges and opportunities facing the media industry, his optimism for the future, and the importance of journalistic integrity. He also discussed how he feels about the "both sides journalism debate," and how he makes decisions about what to publish.
• 00:30:00 The speaker discussion how to navigate social media platforms, with an emphasis on avoiding bias. They state that, as an editor, they're less quick to pull the trigger on a tweet, and that most of their reporting now takes the form of commentary. The questioner asks if the reporters are given guidance on how to navigate Twitter, to which the speaker responds that they do not typically give reporters specific guidance, but that they do keep an eye on their Twitter feeds.
• 00:35:00 The speaker discusses some of the challenges they have faced as a reporter since they launched their own news outlet, including the difficulty of covering a lot of news in a short period of time and the need to make information accessible to a wide range of people.
• 00:40:00 The States Newsroom discusses its funding, sustainability, and direction. Terrence McDonald and Ambreen Ali discuss their work in journalism and how they try to get to as wide an audience as possible.