Precision around Protests in Portland

There are many things about NPR’s coverage of the Portland protests that make people mad. [View this email online]( [NPR Public Editor by Poynter's Kelly McBride]( Hey, NPR accountability fans, welcome to the weekly update from the Public Editor’s office. We are knee-deep in a close look at the coverage of the Portland protests and the federal response. Wow, is that a complicated story. We are digging into this topic because we have received many, many emails from you. Weirdly, the emails don’t have a single theme, or even a handful of themes. Your concerns and observations are all over the place. While we figure out what, if any, insights we can draw from NPR’s coverage of these demonstrations in Oregon, we could use two things from you: one is more notes. That may seem counterintuitive, but trust us, any scrutiny you can supply helps us. And the second thing that would be even more helpful is if you could also give us an idea of what you're looking for. What do you want out of the coverage of the conflict in Portland? In the meantime, we’ve got a couple of audience letters for you, a great content recommendation and a peek behind the scenes with a member of the Code Switch team. From the Inbox Here are a few quotes from the Public Editor's inbox that resonated with us. You can share your questions and concerns with us through the [NPR Contact page](. Violence in Portland Mike Miller writes: There is a difference between violence and vandalism. I keep hearing newscasters say "the protests turned violent" and then describe acts of vandalism. These are not the same thing. It’s unethical to describe protesters as violent when no persons are harmed. Graffiti is NOT violence. Maybe window breaking and car burning could be put in with violence, it would be more correct to say destructive. Please stop characterizing protesters as violent when they are not. Let's save that description for the police who are actually violent. Stay tuned for our column next week. Many of the word choices we make as we craft stories about the Portland protests imply something more or different that we intend. And that’s on us. Rest assured we are taking a close look, and language will be part of our column next week. A word about witches Terrence Hunt writes: I am a former news editor for the Wild Hunt (wildhunt.org), and I quailed when I heard the term "self-described witches" being used on an NPR program. That's the kind of biased coverage that the Wild Hunt was created to combat. It is not appropriate to refer to someone's religion as "self-described," particularly in a light story broadcast in jest, because it denigrates sincerely-held beliefs. I don't expect that Christians, Muslims, Jews, or Hindus are ever labeled as "self-described" in NPR coverage, and it is just as inappropriate to label pagans, atheists, satanists, Zoroastrians, or anyone else in that manner. Sorry to make you quail (but thanks for that great verb). As a proud former religion reporter, I (Kelly) get your point. Most likely the writer was trying to signal to the audience: “We’re not calling them witches in a derogatory way, this is their preferred terminology.” But, yeah, we can definitely see that when you add those words “self-described” to other belief systems, it sounds pejorative, even though that’s not the intention. There are clearly other devices, including the tone of the writing, that can do that job for a writer. AOC’s stand Alec Lowman writes: I’m writing to share an observation regarding the July 24th headline, “ ['I Could Not Allow That To Stand':]( Ocasio-Cortez Rebukes Republican For Vulgar Insult.” While the headline is accurate, it obscures a key element of the story: it is not just a random Republican who allegedly made this vulgar remark, but a sitting congressman. The headline should read “Ocasio-Cortez Rebukes Congressman” or “Ocasio-Cortez Rebukes Republican Congressman.” A reader quickly scrolling by could reasonably miss the true subject and significance of the story (though of course a savvier reader would read the actual story). A reader might deduce from the headline that this was an important Republican but not that he is Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s colleague and an elected official. I feel minor distinction is an important one; this is not just a case of a partisan smear from an outsider. Many thanks for your time! I am a big fan of the column and use it to help teach my 10th grade English students about the importance of word choice. A very smart point, Alec. The central focus of Ocasio-Cortez’s speech was that as women who assert our right to be seen and heard and respected, we hear that talk All. The. Time. So much so that we learn to ignore it. And the very reason she stood up was not because it came from a Republican, but because it came from a fellow member of Congress. Headlines are meant to do two things: accurately describe the promise of the story and entice a consumer into the content. As journalists, when we write headlines, we are cognizant of both functions, but probably more so of getting the consumer into the story. After all, what’s the point if you can’t find the audience? On another note, it’s great to hear that you’re using our work in your class. Our audience includes many college and high school teachers. We consider it a fringe benefit of our job that we are adding to the curriculum that is building the next generation of news-literate consumers. Let us know how we might do more to help. On My Mind There’s so much NPR content worthy of praise, criticism or just a bit of conversation. Here I share a line or two about things that caught your attention or mine. Tales from Minneapolis [cartoon of protests]( Fahmida Azim CODE SWITCH [Un-HolyLand? An Arab Muslim Reckoning With Racism]( The reckoning on race in this country seems to be the most sustained social accounting since the Civil Rights Era. That’s even more true in the city that started it all. An installment of Code Switch last week dove into the conflict between a [Palestinian American’s American dream and his family’s racist past.]( Majdi Wadi, CEO of the food brand HolyLand, is a household name in Minneapolis. But his brand took a hit when his daughter’s racist tweets came to light. He immediately called a [prominent Black imam to help him make amends]( to the community. This story goes deep into the tensions between immigrants who own corner markets, and the poor communities they often serve. There are no clear-cut answers to the questions this episode introduces, which is kind of appropriate given how complex the dynamics are. Can you be forgiven for instances of racism? Is it OK to ask a Black leader to help you fix your racism, and thus save your business? But the nuances and lovely gray areas make this 42-minute listen worth your time. Behind the Scenes This is how the news gets made. We want your ideas for how we can do it better. Behind the scenes of an NPR podcast on the rise By Meredith Roaten Leah Donnella has worked with the podcast Code Switch for nearly five years, and has played nearly every role on the team. Now as an editor, she is helping see Code Switch through a huge growth in audience in a really short time. Donnella said since her work began virtually, she is on the phone most of the day trying to get ready for the next episode. She and her team are excited for the growth in listeners, but she said the approach to having tough conversations about race won’t change much. Donnella says her co-workers at Code Switch keep her laughing. Photo Courtesy of Leah Donnella Here’s how she works virtually from her apartment in D.C.: What has it been like to work on Code Switch when there has been so much bad news? I think recently the most challenging thing has been just trying to process the emotional stuff and everything that's going on in the world at the same time as doing work that's very focused on what's happening. It can be very hard to separate reacting to all this tragedy and racism and inequality and the emotional toll of that, while at the same time having to think of something interesting and informative to say about it. I think everyone on our team has been kind of hit by that in different ways, and that can be really exhausting. How has your team changed your approach since getting so many new listeners? We’re trying for the most part not to change our approach much. We want the show to sound welcoming for new people so that they can jump in and feel like they're part of an ongoing conversation. But we also have been trying not to write episodes where it sounds like we’re starting from the beginning. We want to focus mostly on creating episodes that will be interesting for people who have been thinking about race for a long time and listening to the podcast for the past four years. We have a lot of people who say, “Oh, this was confusing for me. I don't know about this.” And we send them an excerpt from our back catalog that might explain this thing. Most challenging part of working from home? Our team is already split up between L.A. and D.C., so I'm very used to that kind of long-distance relationship with the L.A. folks. But the people in D.C. — I'm so used to shouting across the desks at them or going to find someone when I need them. Initially, it was a big adjustment. Then recording the podcast from at least three and usually four or five different places and getting everyone so they can hear each other and record has been a huge pain in the neck. Now we do have a daily morning call to check in about things. So we use e-mail, text, Slack. But mostly I'm on the phone all day. I’ve started pacing for hours at a time while I’m on these phone calls. What have you noticed that’s different about the podcast now that you work from home? At first the audio took a lot of tweaking and adjusting to make sure that our hosts could record in a way that sounded close to studio quality. We've gotten to a better routine where we know what we're doing. We do our soundchecks, we have things sounding good. But then, more can go wrong now than before and often it's something that we don't actually notice until the editing process. What are you doing to de-stress? In lieu of being able to go somewhere new, I’m trying to look up recipes from places that I would like to visit someday, like a little pretend vacation for dinner. The recipe that I’ve been consistently trying is a tortilla Española. Every time I’ve made it, it’s tasted really good, but is really ugly to look at. So my goal is to make one that is really beautiful. I’ve also been walking around my neighborhood, which is fun because I feel like everyone has become an amateur birder or gardener, and it’s just really nice getting to see my neighborhood full of flowers and animals. There’s a lot of things that I didn’t realize existed when I was working from the office. Which episode(s) have you been proudest of? I got to do an episode that was about [my family’s history]( and how my family story related to immigration and slavery. That was something that I had been working on for more than a year, so it’s one that I’m really proud of and really relieved to have done. (Side note, Kelly also loved that Code Switch installment.) The episode that we produced right after George Floyd’s death called “[A Decade Of Watching Black People Die,]( that one I’m also really proud of. We usually release episodes on Wednesday. That one we put out on a Friday, so that it could happen as soon as possible. I think it really felt like an honest, very thoughtful reaction to what was happening, and the context people needed right in that moment. The week before that, we had an episode that was about the [music that was giving people life during quarantine or isolating](. I really liked that one, too, because I think often our episodes are really heavy. To have one that was about something that’s very peaceful and uplifting, and the things that are helping people get through a really difficult time. That's a nice way to show that talking about race isn't always just talking about tragedy and unfairness. Thanks for all your help. Keep the [emails]( and [tweets]( and [Facebook]( comments coming. That’s how we know you’re part of this big village, dedicated to making NPR even better than it already is. Kelly McBride NPR Public Editor Chair, [Craig Newmark Center for Ethics & Leadership at the Poynter Institute]( The Public Editor stands as a source of independent accountability. Created by NPR's board of directors, the Public Editor serves as a bridge between the newsroom and the audience, striving to both listen to the audience's concerns and explain the newsroom's work and ambitions. The office ensures NPR remains steadfast in its mission to present fair, accurate and comprehensive information in service of democracy. [Read more]( from the NPR Public Editor, [contact us]( or follow us on [Twitter](. You received this message because you're subscribed to Public Editor emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy](