Three McClatchy Newsrooms to Join News Co/Lab Initiative

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- McClatchy announced today that three newsrooms will join an innovative initiative to strengthen news literacy, credibility and public trust.

The Telegraph, in Macon, Georgia, and The Modesto Bee, in central valley California, will join The Kansas City Star as part of News Co/Lab, a collaborative project developed by Arizona State University's Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and supported by the Facebook Journalism Project and the News Integrity Initiative.

The three local newsrooms will launch a variety of experiments to improve the public's ability to understand how news works, build public trust in reporting, increase transparency in how news is produced, improve community engagement with newsrooms and gather feedback. The Cronkite School will track the success of these steps and share best practices and models that work.

"There's vital work and fresh experiments to be done in delivering news the public can trust in a digital market," said Tim Grieve, vice president for news at McClatchy. "These three newsrooms will be excellent partners, representing every part of the country, various size staffs and very different communities.''

Facebook Journalism Project's launch funding is an outgrowth of the "News Literacy Working Group" that convened last March at the Cronkite School. The gathering included experts from around the world who sought innovative approaches to fighting misinformation.

The concept that emerged was the collaborative effort that will be based at Arizona State University, under the direction of two Cronkite School professors, journalist and author Dan Gillmor and Eric Newton, the school's innovation chief.

About McClatchy

McClatchy is a publisher of iconic brands such as the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star, The Sacramento Bee, The Charlotte Observer, The (Raleigh) News & Observer, and the (Fort Worth) Star-Telegram. McClatchy operates 30 media companies in 14 states, providing each of its communities with high-quality news and advertising services in a wide array of digital and print formats. McClatchy is headquartered in Sacramento, Calif., and listed on the New York Stock Exchange American under the symbol MNI.

About the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication

The Cronkite School at Arizona State University is widely recognized as one of the nation's premier professional journalism programs. The School's 1,800 students regularly lead the country in national journalism competitions. They are guided by faculty comprised of award-winning professional journalists and world-class media scholars. Cronkite's full-immersion professional programs give students opportunities to practice what they've learned in a real-world setting under the guidance of professionals.

About Facebook and the Facebook Journalism Project

Founded in 2004, Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.

The Facebook Journalism Project was created in January 2017 to establish stronger ties between Facebook and the news industry.  FJP focuses on three pillars: collaborative development of new products; tools and trainings for journalists; and tools and trainings for people.

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SOURCE McClatchy