ENDOWMENT PARTNERS WITH NH PRESS ORGANIZATIONS FOR JOURNALIST TRAINING ON DISINFORMATION

--by Karen Ager, Communications Director The Endowment for Health supports professional development in a variety of sectors. In particular, support for the journalism sector is part of a national trend amongst foundations of all sizes. We recognize that strong local journalism is tantamount to raising public awareness on a variety of issues and is an underpinning of democracy. News outlets and reporters are increasingly challenged to sort through a burgeoning wave of online, user-generated content in addition to traditional sources. In an age where cameras are in our phones and the average person can spread messages widely on social media, news comes from everywhere. But what is real and trustworthy? Who is behind any given message and why? Is it factual, a false claim or somewhere in between? Today's journalists must discern, fact-check and verify information at the speed of light. That's why the Endowment partnered with the NH Press Association, Granite State News Collaborative, the Marlin Fitzwater School of Communication and the Nackey Loeb School to addresses these modern reporting challenges. Trust and Truth in the Digital Age, a journalist's primer on combating disinformation, was led by First Draft, an organization that hosts a global verification and investigation network through the CrossCheck International initiative. This expanding community brings best practices to newsrooms and journalism schools around the world. Thirty reporters and editors from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont, attended the day-long seminar held on October 30 at the Franklin Pierce University Manchester campus. The training featured deep discussion on how to identify rumors and masked motives. A panel of reporters and experts were also on hand to discuss practical and ethical considerations in local newsrooms. "Mis and disinformation won't go away anytime soon," says Melanie Plenda, director of the Granite State News Collaborative. "It's part of the landscape we live and work in now. We are obligated as journalists to make sure that the public has the most accurate and fair information it needs to be informed and make decisions. That's why it is so important that we keep learning new skills like the ones First Draft shared with us and continue to practice them," she said.