Writer. Editor. Photographer.
Presidents critical of the press aren’t new, but Trump’s tactics represent a significant escalation. At the link, read my conversation about the White House’s online “burn book,” with Christoph Mergerson, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
#Trump #FirstAmendment #newsmedia #journalism
Data is transforming investigative journalism — from satellite imagery to foster care records — helping reporters uncover stories hidden in plain sight.
#DataJournalism #DigitalForensics #NewYorkTimes #Bellingcat #MountainStateSpotlight
50 States, 50 Fixes: How local climate solutions are resonating across America — my conversation with The New York Times’ Climate Editor Lyndsey Layton.
#NYTimes #climate #localnews
Chris Reen is Editor & Publisher (E&P) Magazine‘s Publisher of the Year.
Chris Reen is honored for his approachable optimism, reverence for journalism and a record of innovation, resilience and service to community.
QUICK READ: How top journalists protect sources and turn secrets into stories
Read at the link or in the September 2025 Editor & Publisher print edition:
“This is an area where more boards of directors than ever are looking for continued updates, not just on the state of the law and the state of enforcement policy, but what it all means in terms of their own companies’ practices. … This is complicated stuff.” — Camille Olson, partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
E&P’s August 2025 Cover Story: Experts weigh in on how DEI can survive and evolve in today’s volatile media and legal landscape
https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/whats-next-for-dei-in-newsrooms,257042
Quick Read: The Houston Chronicle investigative team—double the size it was just a year ago—digs deep into the questions that matter most to Houstonians
E&P started a series a couple of years ago, which we call “J-school profiles.” To create a bridge between the next-generation of aspiring journalists and E&P’s readers — many of whom hail from C-suite offices at news organizations small to massive — we began to write about journalism schools across the country. We wanted to know how curricula is changing as technology and journalism itself evolve, and how young people coming into the profession see their future roles.
Often, during those conversations with faculty and students, the topic of journalism’s “impact” came up. Many of those young people spoke about being compelled to pursue journalism because they wanted to do work that is meaningful, that inspires change, that has real, measurable value. In speaking with deans and professors, they often echoed hearing this from their students — the desire to be impactful. And yet, some of those educators also spoke from a place of concern, noting the important distinction between pursuing stories that may ultimately have impact and being an advocate for a particular community or cause.
It left me wondering: At what point does creating impactful journalism cross over into the realm of advocacy? And what are the ethical implications? The answer, it would seem, isn’t clear-cut, but I’d argue it’s still a discussion worth having. So, I asked three experts about their takes on advocacy versus journalism. Here’s what they had to say:
In the latest installment of E&P’s “Reporting On” series, we look at the environment beat, with particular interest in reporting on communities impacted by pollution and contamination.
This was a particularly personal assignment for me, having grown up in a town with a notorious Superfund site not far from my childhood home. It was likely a contributor to lifelong health problems for our family and for so many others in our community. Today, nearly six decades after the malfeasance that contaminated the site — and despite EPA intervention and remediation efforts — the land remains contaminated by military-grade Vietnam-era defoliants (just one category of “forever chemicals.”). Not long ago, it was sold to a developer who built housing on it.
Reporting on these public health and safety dangers is critical journalism. At the link, I speak with two reporters — Halle Parker at NPR affiliate WWNO in New Orleans and Alex Rozier at Mississippi Today — about the importance and challenges of environmental storytelling.
Gretchen A. Peck 