Newsweek Engages Poynter Institute To Reinforce Newsroom Standards, Ethics & Best Practices

NEW YORK, April 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Newsweek's Global Editor-in-Chief Nancy Cooper today announced that the news organization is retaining the Poynter Institute, a global leader in journalism, in a consultative role to review and support newsroom standards, ethics and processes. Senior Vice President of the Poynter Institute, Kelly McBride, a writer, teacher and one of the country's leading voices when it comes to media ethics, will serve as Editorial Advisor, working directly with Cooper and her editorial team. In this position, McBride will also partner with Cooper to ensure that the newsroom is educated in best practices and to provide Poynter resources accordingly.

"At a time when the public's trust of the media is at an all-time low, it's crucial for us to be transparent about our processes and explicit in our commitment to integrity," said Cooper. "We look forward to working closely with Kelly to further support our dedication to quality journalism."

"Newsweek is an historic brand in American news and I'm eager to work with their journalists as they explore new challenges," said McBride. "Under Nancy's leadership, the editorial team has delivered important news on everything from politics to culture to healthcare. I'm excited to support their work and mission."

Kelly McBride has been on the faculty of The Poynter Institute since 2002. In addition to serving as the organization's senior vice president, she is also the Craig Newmark Journalism Ethics Chair of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership. The world's largest newsrooms, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NPR and the BBC, frequently seek her advice for internal decisions and quote her expertise in their stories. She is the co-editor, along with Tom Rosenstiel, of The New Ethics of Journalism: Principles for the 21st Century, which features essays by 14 thought leaders and practitioners, as well as a new code of ethics for journalists and people who care about journalism.

This initiative with Newsweek will represent the first formalized ethics consulting project since the Institute launched the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership at Poynter in February. The Center, funded by philanthropist and media technology entrepreneur Craig Newmark, will advance the quality of journalism by teaching journalists and working with news organizations to hone and adopt meaningful and transparent ethical practices.

Poynter has seen a significant uptick in the number of journalists and newsrooms who are seeking help with ethical issues. This project with Newsweek is one example of how newsrooms can engage with the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership at Poynter.

The Center aims to be a resource to journalists and citizens as they navigate today's complex media landscape. Beyond training and consultation, The Center will:

• Act as a clearinghouse for best practices in media ethics.
• Cover journalism ethics as a beat, including in-depth special reports, an ethics newsletter, a regular "Ask the Ethicist" column and a possible ethics-focused podcast.
• Offer a fellowship for a professional journalist to conduct research, write and teach ethics. Applications will open next week for this position.
• Host events that bring together those working to improve trust in journalism and combat misinformation. The first event, Reporting from the Front Lines of the Information Wars, will take place May 9 at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a global leader in journalism education and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media and 21st-century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, and at conferences and organizations around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, offers the world's largest online journalism curriculum, with hundreds of interactive courses and tens of thousands of registered international users. The Institute's website, poynter.org, produces 24-hour coverage about media, ethics, technology and the business of news. Poynter is the home of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, the Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact, the International Fact-Checking Network and MediaWise, a teen digital information literacy project. Collectively, this work builds public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and discourse that serves democracy and the public good.

About Newsweek
Newsweek is the modern global digital news organization built around the iconic, 85-year-old American magazine.  Newsweek reaches more than 30 million people each month with its thought-provoking news, opinion, images, graphics and video delivered across a dozen print and digital platforms. Headquartered in New York City, Newsweek also publishes international editions in EMEA and Asia.

SOURCE Newsweek