Posts by Kelly McBride

By Kelly McBride • December 9, 2015

(Photo from Matthew Keefe, via Flickr) As an expert on media ethics, I’ve been a frequent guest on radio and television programs for more than a decade. But this week was a first for me: When I joined the CBC’s morning news show, The Current, to talk about the ethics of which name to call the terrorist … Read More

By Kelly McBride • December 4, 2015

As tawdry as it looked to have a barrage of reporters trampling through the residence of the deceased couple responsible for this week’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, the journalists who walked through the door did the right thing. But the journalists who broadcast the invasion live were irresponsible. As a reporter, your primary obligation is to gather information … Read More

By Kelly McBride • October 2, 2015

Kristen Sterner, left, and Carrissa Welding, both students of Umpqua Community College, embrace each other during a candle light vigil for those killed during a fatal shooting at the college, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, in Roseburg, Ore. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Public officials and advocates for victims often ask journalists to refrain from naming the individual behind a heinous act. This … Read More

By Kelly McBride • October 2, 2015

Tracking down witnesses and victims of traumatic events is the work of journalism. We serve the public interest by documenting events thoroughly and accurately. Here are some suggested best practices for finding sources: Use shared documents to coordinate with everyone you work with. It’s unnecessary to have more than one person from a news organization reaching out to the … Read More

By Kelly McBride • August 3, 2015

AJ+ producer Damu Bobb uses a mobile rig to report from Baltimore. (Photo by Devin Allen) As editors reorganize and identify new beats or topics, social justice reporting is gaining ground as an area of coverage. In the San Francisco Bay area, where social justice is a simmering topic, newsrooms are developing creative approaches. The Center for Investigative Reporting … Read More

By Kelly McBride • July 17, 2015

The Gawker story about a top magazine official’s recent attempt to hire a porn star for $2,500 for a few hours of sex is a classic case of invasion of privacy with absolutely no redeeming social value. From Gawker’s story, we see the executive being mature and even considerate of his would-be sexual partner. We see Gawker’s source reneging … Read More

By Kelly McBride • June 18, 2015

Rachel Dolezal, stands in front of a mural she painted at the Human Rights Education Institute, offices in coeur d'alene, idaho In this photo taken July 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Nicholas K. Geranios)Shawn Vestal, a newspaper columnist in Spokane, Washington, had just cleared his decks to start checking out Rachel Dolezal’s story when he got scooped last week. But … Read More

By Kelly McBride • May 28, 2015

Kelly McBride and her daughter Molly in New York. (Photo courtesy of the Kelly McBride) My eldest got her dream internship. She starts next week. Here's the letter I wrote, with help from my friends. Dear daughter, Congrats on getting an internship at a place where you already love the journalism. I know you got called as an alternate, … Read More

By Kelly McBride • May 8, 2015

ESPN says that it is parting ways with Bill Simmons, one of its top personalities who created the Grantland website and was instrumental in the network's documentary series. Network president John Skipper said Friday that he decided not to renew Simmons' contract. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) This breakup between ESPN and Bill Simmons was inevitable. Fifteen years ago … Read More

By Kelly McBride • April 29, 2015

There are two very important things newsrooms should do in every community to document the relationship between the police and the community. Analyze the data and policies of your law enforcement agencies What’s the racial breakdown of the force? Do officers have to live in the city or county where they work? How many excessive force complaints were filed over … Read More

By Kelly McBride • April 6, 2015

No one was fired. The Rolling Stone story “A Rape on Campus” disappears from their site, replaced by the Columbia Journalism School's report. But how will the magazine recover from this massive, public failure? Even people who don’t regularly read Rolling Stone are aware that the magazine’s story about a 2012 gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity … Read More

By Kelly McBride • March 13, 2015

There were a few relevant insights for journalists in a SXSW session Friday that was primarily designed to motivate advertisers and marketers to target Hispanics, African-Americans and Asians on Facebook. If you want to get relevant content in front of a diverse audience on social media, you have to understand the nuances of how that audience is different from the … Read More

By Kelly McBride • March 11, 2015

journalism plays a significant role in public shaming. Read More

By Kelly McBride • January 10, 2015

New York Times Editor Dean Baquet called a college professor an a**hole. Read More

By Kelly McBride • December 16, 2014

Sony and Aaron Sorkin both got it wrong. There are journalism ethics to mining emails hacked by someone else. But the question is not whether or not to mine them, but rather how. Journalists generally agree that it’s appropriate to use ill-gotten information in the public interest, whether it’s the Pentagon Papers or a massive email hack. But … Read More