COVID-19
Get Iowa COVID updates on this new dashboard
This article is free to use and publish in your publication. A new website, the product of a collaboration among Iowa newspapers, will serve as a central source of Iowa COVID-19 data. The project is being led by the Iowa Newspaper Association and spearheaded by the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Des Moines Register, Iowa City Daily…
Read MoreDon’t let fatigue and friction keep you from covering the pandemic
Al CrossPresident, The Society of Professional Journalists Just as some people are tiring of taking precautions against the novel coronavirus, helping it spread, I’m sure some newsrooms are tiring of covering it. And that helps it spread, too, by making it seem less of a threat, and discouraging precautions. And I fear that some newsrooms…
Read MoreTell the stories behind the statistics
By Jim Pumarlo Everyday news reports are filled with statistics as COVID-19 continues to dominate headlines. The number of individuals who have tested positive and those who have died of the coronavirus. Patients hospitalized and those in ICU. Confirmed cases broken down by gender, ethnicity and county of residence. The tally of businesses that have…
Read MoreNAM’s partners with Metro Creative Graphics to deliver a series of promotional messages
The following message was sent to NAM Members on Tuesday. All of our member newspapers are gearing up for the reopening of businesses shut down by the pandemic since March. It’s a great time to show the POWER OF NEWSPAPERS that are, we would all agree, the best investment an advertiser can make. NAM’s partnership…
Read MoreMore Iowa newsrooms earn Facebook journalism grants
Facebook has announced more than 200 news organizations will receive nearly $16 million in grants through the Facebook Journalism Project’s relief fund for local news. Three Iowa newspapers in Carroll, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines in total received over $200,000 in grants. Cedar Rapids Gazette and Iowa Starting Line were announced as recipients during the…
Read MoreCoronavirus secrecy erodes the public’s confidence
Randy Evans, Executive DirectorIowa Freedom of Information Council The relationship between government and the governed is a delicate arrangement, even in the best of times. Government wants us to pay our taxes. It wants us to obey its laws and directives. Citizens, in turn, expect certain things from government, things like good schools, parks, law…
Read MoreIdeas worth sharing: Working together to deliver the news
In the first week of state-mandated closures of restaurants and other businesses in Iowa, The News in Kalona launched an advertising campaign to help local businesses let customers know what is open and what is closed. Soon after sending an email announcing the campaign, Publisher Jim Johnson received a call from Ryan Schlabaugh, the Kalona…
Read MoreReporters Committee for Freedom of the Press offers HIPAA guidebook
Medical privacy laws can confuse the most savvy journalist and give public officials a reason not to disclose information that should be provided to the public under state open records laws. During the pandemic, a new wave of concerns about the application of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are coming from NNA…
Read MoreIdeas worth sharing: Times Citizen Communications builds creative revenue
Times Citizen Communication has come up with a creative way to get community businesses involved with supporting their local newspaper. The paper sold four weeks of different double truck coloring pages. The pages reflect messages of hope and bring people together for a timeless activity. If your newspaper has come up with a creative way…
Read MoreBail out the Postal Service before cruise lines
Randy Evans, Executive DirectorIowa Freedom of Information Council It’s quiz time. What arm of the federal government has the most contact with ordinary Americans, people like you and me? Is it the Internal Revenue Service? Social Security Administration? The Food and Drug Administration? Or the Department of Agriculture? Nope. Not that one. Not that one,…
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