Iditarod, Erbil, Gonzaga

What do these things have in common? [View this email online]( [NPR Public Editor by Poynter's Kelly McBride]( In Spokane, Wash., when my alma mater Gonzaga University* first burst onto the March Madness scene more than 20 years ago, there was a popular drinking game where we would take a sip every time an announcer mispronounced the school’s name as “Gon-zaw-ga” or the city’s name as “Spo-cain.” If you were doing shots, you’d pass out by halftime. It’s “Gun-ZAG-a,” because it’s an Italian name. And “Spo-CAN,” because it’s the name of a Native American tribe. Hearing the name of the city or the school mispronounced over and over was an insult, a reminder that the people who were talking about us had never actually talked to us. Almost everybody has had this very same experience. Hearing the name of a place you love mispronounced by a national broadcaster hurts your ears. There’s a deeper, more costly, cultural equivalent to that same phenomenon. When journalists from outside of a place come in to cover that community, the result can sometimes have the same effect. The story doesn’t ring true to the people who know it best. As we search through the many letters that we get from NPR listeners, we pay particular attention to questions about coverage of places off the beaten trail, for just this reason. NPR [prides itself]( on getting stories to sound authentic to the people who live them, not just for the outsider looking in. We’ve got two issues for you today, one about a pronunciation of a far-away place that NPR initially got wrong, and one about a far-away cultural event that NPR could have gotten more right, but not in the way our critics were hoping for. For what it’s worth, NPR figured out how to pronounce Gonzaga long before most national broadcasters. *March Madness shout-out to my j-school alma mater, Mizzou, too. Hope you get to meet each other in the round of 16. [Dallas Seavey leaves Koyukuk after taking his 8 hour rest in the 2017 Iditarod.]( Dallas Seavey leaves Koyukuk after taking his 8-hour rest in the 2017 Iditarod. Zachariah Hughes/Alaska Public Media 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](. Covering the Iditarod Deon Saraceno writes: I question [your choice to]( celebrate and advertise an event that is essentially animal cruelty. And, it seems even more questionable that they would hold the Iditarod this year, possibly spreading the coronavirus to remote areas. If you feel the need to air a story about the Iditarod, could you possibly also discuss the animal cruelty aspect. Could you air a piece that explains how many sled dogs are killed and injured during this event and how lead sled dogs are killed when they are no longer able to "do the job." Lani Crawford writes: Just wondering if when you cover the Iditarod if you have mentioned the recent loss of their sponsors due to the cruelty to animals that naturally ensues? The [story]( you heard on Morning Edition was a look at this long-standing Alaskan tradition in the COVID era. In addition to that piece, NPR [also published]( this web story a week earlier. Neither piece mentioned dropped sponsors or past abuse controversies. I reached out to Lori Townsend, news director of Alaska Public Media, for thoughts on the Morning Edition segment. In an email she told me that she didn’t detect any shortcomings. But the piece would have been even stronger if NPR had tapped its member station to do a story on this year’s unusual logistics. Alaska Public Media is the ESPN of the Iditarod. “We cover any and all [dog deaths]( or allegations of abuse, although those are rare,” Townsend said. “It's not unusual for us to hear from people not in Alaska and not actually seeing the race that somehow race officials are covering up deaths, but there are always enough reporters following everything that's happening on the race to report that, if it were the case, it's simply never been found to be true.” Covering a significant event with historical roots, like the Iditarod, is a way of taking the audience to a place that most of us will never see first hand. Doing so in a way that balances honest criticism with cultural respect, requires expertise and professionalism. The journalists at Alaska Public Media have been doing this for years. They even publish a daily podcast about the race [called Iditapod](. Townsend added that all dogs are checked repeatedly by vets along the trail, and the racers themselves will take dogs out of the teams and leave them with handlers if they are sick or have other issues. The dogs are cared for and then transported back to their respective home kennels. NPR and Alaska Public Media have both covered [past controversies]( including [dropped sponsors](. “The Iditarod is a big, annual event in Alaska, but we have always been clear-eyed about reporting on all of it, both the good and the occasional bad, but when the dogs reach the finish line and are still energetic and happy, it's hard to see how that equates to abuse,” she said. “If we saw abuse, we would certainly report on it, the race isn't precious.” — Amaris Castillo Say it right Christopher Lyman writes: In [introducing a story]( about a visit by the Pope to Northern Iraq, Scott Detrow repeatedly pronounced the name of the city Irbil (which is pronounced "urbeel") as if it were the word *herbal* as in tea. Such mispronunciation is common in British media, and has always struck me as expressing the ongoing condescension born of colonialism. You’re right that in the original live feed for this Morning Edition story, host Scott Detrow pronounced Erbil (that’s how NPR spells it) like “herbal.” It was corrected in later feeds. Now, when you listen to [the audio in the online version]( you won’t hear “herbal,” you’ll hear both Detrow and correspondent Alice Fordham say “ur-beel,” which, as you’ve suggested, is the intended pronunciation for the city. We also listened to [this Weekend Edition Saturday story]( from March 13 and heard “ur-beel” when it was mentioned. We share your deep care about the pronunciation of place names — it’s important to do research and get that right, especially in radio journalism. It can be distracting and jarring to hear words and places we know well butchered in pronunciation. I’m from South Louisiana, and I vividly remember [when NPR got a Louisiana place name, Natchitoches, wrong]( years ago. It’s pronounced “nak-a-dish.” Former NPR Public Editor Elizabeth Jensen [wrote a story]( about the nuances of pronunciation in radio journalism that I highly recommend. In this particular case, NPR corrected the mispronunciation and is now getting this place name right with some consistency, but we plan to keep listening. — Kayla Randall Spotlight On The Public Editor spends a lot of time examining moments where NPR fell short. Yet we also learn a lot about NPR by looking at work that we find to be compelling and excellent journalism. Here we share a line or two about the pieces where NPR shines. Is it art or asset? [A work called Nyan Cat by Chris Torres sold for $590,000 recently.]( Chris Torres POP CULTURE [What's An NFT? And Why Are People Paying Millions To Buy Them?]( We didn’t understand NFTs either, so we were grateful for the [explainer from NPR](. The story says an NFT (that’s nonfungible token) “of LeBron James making a historic dunk for the Lakers garnered more than $200,000. The band Kings of Leon is releasing its new album in the form of an NFT,” and “Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey listed his first-ever tweet as an NFT.” So what is it, how do you buy and sell it and what does it mean? Thankfully, the piece answers those questions and many more. — Kayla Randall A long-awaited exclusive [Mac Phipps]( Dale Edwin Murray for NPR LOUDER THAN A RIOT [21 Years and 1 Day: Mac Phipps (Exclusive)]( Late last year, [we wrote about Louder Than A Riot]( a limited series about the connections between mass incarceration and hip-hop music. The series told us about several hip-hop artists who were targeted with criminal prosecution and it focused on the case of Mac Phipps (known as Mac). But prison officials repeatedly denied co-hosts Rodney Carmichael and Sidney Madden the opportunity to interview Mac. Until now. Last week, LTAR [dropped a bonus episode]( featuring an exclusive interview with the New Orleans-born rapper and songwriter, who in 2001 was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He and his family have maintained his innocence for years. In February, the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole recommended clemency for Mac. In this bonus episode, the co-hosts take listeners inside that remote hearing, and for the first time they’re able to speak with Mac himself about his hearing and some deep reflections on the events that led to his incarceration. We also hear from Mac’s wife and family. Even months after LTAR had its series finale, it’s special to have NPR release another rich tapestry of reporting, research and cultural criticism. — Amaris Castillo One question We ask NPR journalists one question about how their work came together. By Amaris Castillo How do you decide which stories get social-media attention? To our delight, one of the many notes we received in our inbox came from NPR reader Jessica Rich, a library and information sciences student at the University of Illinois iSchool. She wants to know how the news stories we see on social media are selected and presented to us on Facebook. Close to 7 million Facebook users “like” NPR’s official page, making it likely that they will see NPR posts in their news feeds. We reached out to Nicole Hernandez, an engagement editor at NPR, for a peek inside her team. In an email she told me it promotes almost all of the digital stories NPR produces on Facebook. “How we go about promoting it may vary based on the story’s visual assets, news peg and hook,” Hernandez said. “The Engagement Team considers the different ways to tell a story on Facebook.” For example, she said, if it’s a photo-heavy feature, the team might create an album that publishes over the weekend with those images. “And we encourage our colleagues to share suggested language and guidance with us to make sure everything that publishes under the NPR umbrella fulfills the organization’s mission,” Hernandez said. So there you go. It’s not a matter of selection at all, because almost every NPR story is shared on social media. Instead, the NPR staff members are trying to figure out what material in each story will attract readers from social-media platforms like Facebook. The Office of the Public Editor is a team. Researchers Amaris Castillo and Kayla Randall make this newsletter possible. We are still reading all of your messages on [Facebook]( [Twitter]( and [from our inbox](. As always, keep them coming. Kelly McBride NPR Public Editor Chair, [Craig Newmark Center for Ethics & Leadership at the Poynter Institute]( Kelly McBride, Public Editor Kayla Randall, NPR Amaris Castillo, 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. 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