A Word From The Board
Dear colleagues,
It’s a little hard to see beyond the US election as its outcome is of such grave importance within and beyond the US, not least as a guide to the future of free speech. X/Twitter has been in the forefront of the debate about freedom of speech and disinformation during the runup to this election. Whether ONO should stay on the platform and the wider issue of how to set our presence on social media is the subject of Shoptalk on November 12, at 12 noon UTC.
Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of the UK’s Guardian newspaper and now editor of Prospect magazine, is among the speakers. In this Alan Rusbridger, Shoptalk speaker newsletter, there are also updates on the moves to refurbish the website and a variety of views on what it means for the Washington Post and the LA Times to resile from endorsing a candidate for the US elections culled from our look at key journalists’ organisation’s websites. We also meet three new ONO members.
Margo Smit, president
Jack Nagler, vice-president
Elisabeth Ribbans, treasurer
Chris Elliott, executive director
New members: three colleagues from the US based Scripps News
Amber Strong, Senior Editor of News Standards, Scripps News
Amber Strong is a senior editor of news standards for Scripps News, a role decades in the making. 
Following an internship with MSNBC, Amber began her career in news in her hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. She found her niche working behind the scenes at the NBC affiliate, running audio and studio cameras. She quickly transitioned to producer and host of a weekend newsmagazine program. But politics beckoned. She made the move to Washington, D.C., working as a presidential campaign field producer. Shortly thereafter, Amber was promoted to fill-in White House correspondent for CBN News, finally settling in as a Washington correspondent.
As a national news correspondent for Scripps News, Amber had the privilege of interviewing some of the most impactful and intriguing people from around the country. From delivering major breaking news in politics to sitting with grieving families in the wake of mass shootings to serving as a host for the network’s documentary series, Amber’s versatility has led her to one national Emmy nomination as well as an NABJ nomination for excellence.
Jessica Walsh, Director of News Standards, Scripps News
Jessica Walsh oversees editorial standards at the national television network Scripps News. In that role, she leads the development of editorial policies that cultivate viewer trust and journalistic excellence. 
She has also provided standards guidance on complex projects that have gone on to win national Emmy and Murrow awards. Beyond her standards leadership, Jessica has an extensive background in story editing and copy editing, having worked across a range of media formats and subject matter to ensure editorial quality and clarity. Her dedication to upholding rigorous standards contributed to the network’s rating by Ad Fontes Media as the most reliable and fact-based source of national television news.
Sarah Fine, Senior Editor of News Standards, Scripps News
Sarah Fine is a senior editor of news standards at Scripps News. 
She began her journalism career as a copy editor and quickly discovered a passion for answering the bigger questions. At Scripps News, she has provided editorial guidance and support on coverage later recognized by the National Headliner Awards, the RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Awards and the GLAAD Awards, among others. Outside of the newsroom, you’ll find her hiking, birding, knitting or attending her Stephen King book club.
X/Twitter, stay or go? 
We are just days away from probably the most important of the democratic elections to be held in the world this year – the US election. There are few of our members or their colleagues in newsrooms around the world who do not look to the outcome with profound concern as to the future of free speech: “When America sneezes, the world catches a cold,” which, ironically, may have been a European import but is nevertheless true. One of the most significant platforms on which this battle has been played out is X/Twitter.
When Elon Musk bought the platform his relaxation of controls over content led to a slew of racist and misogynistic posts with a huge growth in disinformation. Isn’t it time for ONO to leave? The board thought so but many members, following last month’s newsletter when the issue was raised, have emailed to argue that this may be the very time to stay, to fight this poisoning of the platform with an injection of fair and reasonable journalism; to show an example.
The confirmed speakers are Sami Koivisto, head of audience dialogue at YLE in Finland, Edwin Kreulen, ombuds at Trouw in the Netherlands – a daily that just publicly announced that it is no longer on X/Twitter and Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of the Guardian.
Website: next steps
Jeff Brown has finished ‘wireframing’ (creating a kind of two-dimensional blueprint) for the new ONO website. We are now into the next stage of the process with the ONO working party of Pierre Champoux, Jack Nagler and Chris Elliott discussing with Jeff the new look and what should be prominent on the site.
There is still time for members to tell us what they would like to see there.
For instance, should we embed other social media sites such as Bluesky, increasingly seen as a competitor to X/Twitter, which was conceived by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey but is now an independent public benefit corporation?
“Freedom of the Press is guaranteed only to those who own one” (A.J.Liebling)
The decision by The Washington Post and the LA Times not to endorse a candidate has caused a furore among journalists around the world. Here are just a few examples of the reaction to that decision.
- Status
- Pursuing The Post
- 404 Media : The Billionaire Is the Threat, Not the Solution
- NiemanLab: The Washington Post’s non-endorsement led to record-breaking weeks at other news orgs
- International Journalists’ Network: Why many US newspapers are no longer endorsing presidential candidates
- Axios: Washington Post icon urges leadership change: “The issue is one of integrity”
- Poynter: A major news owner bucks the trend with a presidential endorsement
…and here is the view of Jeff Bezos
- Washington Post: The hard truth: Americans don’t trust the news media
Here are other articles that caught the editorial director’s eye. Thanks to Steve Springer and Pierre Champoux for their contributions. If you spot something that you think may be interesting to members please email ONO with the link.
- Axios: Israel-Gaza war protests drive 50% uptick in U.S. journalist assaults
- CPJ (Committee to protect journalists): What the US election could mean for journalists and global press freedom
- AP: Polish Radio Station Replaces Journalists with AI “Presenters”
- Global Investigative Journalism Network: The Increasing Threats Against Lawyers Protecting Journalists
- Columbia Journalism Review: After four decades in journalism, I felt I could no longer follow the rules of impartiality. But I still believe in them.
- The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism: Are fears about online misinformation in the US election overblown? The evidence suggests they might be
- International Journalists’ Network: An academic’s media literacy journey from India to Oman
- The Fix: The fall of free newspapers in Europe: is it the end?
“Gag” rules on public officials: update
Further to the article by Kathryn Foxhall in September’s newsletter questioning whether journalists should be ethically bound to fight bans on employees speaking to them without involving press officers, the MDDC Press Association (Maryland, Delaware, D.C.) has posted the video session of the executive director’s recent discussion with Kathryn on the gag rules issue here.
You have missed ONO’s last Shoptalk?
The most recent editions of our Shoptalk are available through ONO’s website.
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