The newsworthiness of protests  

Did U.S. news organizations under-cover last weekend’s “Hands off!” protests against President Trump’s policies?

Some people think so, judging from letters to the editor in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Boston Globe and others. Margaret Sullivan wrote in her American Crisis newsletter that much of the media reacted to the protests with “something between a yawn and a shrug. Or, in some outlets, a sneer.”

Writing for The New Republic, Parker Molloy cited the lack of prominent coverage by several national organizations. “It’s a deliberate editorial choice that speaks volumes about how establishment media downplays collective action challenging power,” Molloy wrote.

Newsrooms take a number of factors into consideration in deciding how to cover protests, including the size of the crowd, any local issues involved, and the overall vibe of the event.

In her Public Editor newsletter for NPR, Poynter’s Kelly McBride explained the factors that went into NPR’s coverage, ultimately concluding that the three broadcast stories and two on its website seemed right. She also noted that local newsrooms cover the protests based on the needs of their individual communities.

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

Civic Discourse & Democracy

>> Students on the beat (Medill Local News Initiative)

Journalism students are helping out short-staffed media outlets by providing news coverage as part of their curricula, writes Mark Caro. The trend means students get real-world journalism experience while also ensuring that communities’ news gaps get filled. Central to this effort is the Vermont-based Center for Community News, which Richard Watts established in 2022 and works with universities across the country.

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Culture & Inclusion

>> Trump White House won’t respond to some journalists who display their pronouns (The New York Times)

Senior press aides in the White House have refused to respond to questions from reporters who list identifying pronouns in their email signatures, writes The New York Times’ Michael M. Grynbaum. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to that effect when the Times asked about the potential closing of a climate research observatory. Matt Berg, a reporter at Crooked Media who received a similar response, said he finds it “baffling that they care more about pronouns than giving journalists accurate information, but here we are.”

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Community Engagement & Trust

>> Audiences are still skeptical about generative AI in the news (Poynter)

New research from the Poynter Institute and the University of Minnesota suggests people are not ready for news from generative artificial intelligence, writes Alex Mahadevan, director of Poynter’s MediaWise program. “The data suggests if you build it, do not expect overwhelming demand for it,” said Benjamin Toff, a University of Minnesota professor who presented the research at an AI and Ethics summit last week.

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Revenue & Resilience

>> Join us: Proven digital transformation strategies to try at your news organization

We’re hosting an hour-long discussion and interactive debrief at 1 p.m. ET on May 1 about the tools and frameworks featured in API’s Digital Transformation Guide. In this conversation, attendees will hear from local news leaders who worked on successful digital transformation strategies to launch new products, increase revenue streams, hold live journalism events and strengthen workplace culture at their organizations. Learn more and sign up.

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What else you need to know

👀 Trump must face defamation lawsuit from Central Park Five defendants (Reuters)

📈 Pro-Trump creators play down market turmoil: ‘Losing money costs you nothing’ (The Washington Post)

📏No one-size-fits-all: New study offers real ad solutions for tiny newsrooms (Editor & Publisher)

💻 AP debuts new multiformat content delivery platform (The Associated Press)

🌏 Atlas Obscura names former WSJ exec Louise Story as new CEO (Adweek)

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Weekend reads

+ Can AI writing be more than a gimmick? (The New Yorker)

+ Podcast: Trump’s “pincer attack” on journalism is working. But there’s hope. (Mother Jones)

+ ‘Gatsby’ is 100 years old, and Fitzgerald’s tale is still America’s story (WBUR) 

+ Which types of people aren’t big fans of “impartial” news? People who don’t have power (Nieman Lab)