Don't Bury the Lede

Who Makes the News?

Ever wonder who really decides what becomes “news”? In this episode of Laid Off and Looking, we go inside the assignment desk, the nerve center of every newsroom with Professor Benjamin Davis, award-winning journalist and Chair of Multimedia Journalism at Morgan State University. Davis has worked at ABC News, MSNBC.com, and NPR, and he’s here to break down the uncomfortable truth: 👉 The stories you see (and the ones you don’t) are shaped by business pressures, predictability, executive preferences, trending topics, and now… AI. 🔍 In This Episode, We Explore: 00:00 - Start 00:37 - Intro 01:46 - “Yellow Journalism” History Lesson 05:56 - Interview Begins 08:14 - Stacking the Rundown 11:12 - Selling a Story 14:02 - How to Know When You’re Show is Bad 16:30 - How to Do Local News 18:04 - Harsh Truths 20:23 - Citizen Journalists 32:51 - Follow the Technology 36:40 - What We’re Missing 40:00 - Oh Lord These People 42:56 - The Risks of Freelancing 46:01 - AI in the Newsroom 51:58 - Why Did You Become a Journalist? 🎧 Professor Benjamin Davis Professor Davis is a veteran journalist, educator, newsroom leader, and soon-to-be founder of a citizen-journalism app designed to empower the public ethically to tell stories newsrooms can’t or won’t. 💬 Why this episode matters The public often believes “the media refuses to cover certain stories.” This conversation explains why newsrooms make the decisions they make, what’s missing, and how journalism must evolve if it wants to survive the era of distrust and digital chaos.

Can TV News Be Fixed?

Ever wonder why the news, especially TV news is the way it is? This week on Laid Off and Looking, veteran TV news director and journalism educator turned media critic, Jennifer Schulze shares some frank words on how broadcast journalism went off track. From shrinking newsrooms and corporate pressure to the obsession with “going viral,” Schulze explains how decades of cutbacks and bad incentives turned a public service into a ratings race. She also reflects on what it takes to rebuild trust and why the next generation of journalists might still be our best hope. 🎙️ In this episode: 00:00 - Start 01:00 - Intro 02:10 - No More Breaking News @Brodmop on TikTok 06:38 - Ratings Or Information? 09:24 - The Billionaire Influence 10:30 - What Really Broke TV News 17:44 - What It Takes to Stay Employed 19:39 - Fake News Catastrophe 23:08 - Trusting Local News 25:57 - The Op-Ed Albatross 35:58 - Information Curation is Still Needed 46:08 - Paywalls Were A Mistake 47:46 - Is This Still A Safe Career? 52:33 - Credits If you’ve ever worked in a newsroom, watched one fall apart, or wondered who still believes in journalism, this conversation is for you.

The Emotional Toll of Journalism

Most people think journalists are trained to stay detached, to report the story, and not feel it. But what happens when the story breaks you? In this episode we talk with journalist and researcher Luisa Ortiz Pérez, founder of the Media Resilience Network, who launched a groundbreaking survey exploring the emotional toll of journalism during the era of layoffs, audience distrust, and constant crisis coverage. Louisa reveals what her data shows about: 🧠 Burnout, anxiety, and “moral injury” in the newsroom 💔 How layoffs and social media toxicity are reshaping reporters’ sense of purpose 🎙️ Why many journalists feel silenced, even in organizations built to tell the truth 🌍 And what needs to change to make journalism sustainable again This conversation is candid, compassionate, and deeply human: a look at what it really means to do the work of journalism when the industry itself is falling apart. How do we rebuild trust, without breaking the journalists who keep us informed? 00:00 - Start 02:11 - Jenna Remembers the Trauma of Sandy Hook 08:05 - Technology Changed the Game 11:08 - When You Are the Story 14:31 - You Shouldn’t Have to Shrug It Off 17:04 - Journalism Can Make You Sick 18:26 - Put Your Foot Down 22:37 - A Human Condition: A Play About Journalism 25:06 - Take the Veneer Off 27:28 - We Can’t Be Unseen 35:35 - Journalists Need 2 Things to Heal 44:49 - The Algorithm IS NOT Your Friend 48:08 - Only People Not Bots Can Do Journalism 52:29 - PTSD Should Be Recognized 55:15 - Why Did You Become a Journalist? Media Resilience Network https://mdrnet.org/ Take the Survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdAXBQMP8wgy_ecx2dh4WeqAb3fSUyIh8fndSkZrYBGR22yNg/viewform

Public Media vs Commercial News

Ever wonder why your local NPR station or PBS News sounds so different from your local TV news? It’s not just tone, it’s money, mission, and mindset. In this episode of Laid Off and Looking, Domenic and Jenna talk with Stan Jastrzebski, longtime public radio news director for KBIA in Columbia Missouri. He's also a journalism researcher and breaks down why there is a divide between public media and commercial newsrooms. He covers how funding models can shape coverage, who journalists are actually serving, and why both systems are struggling to survive the digital age. Stan also explains how public media’s civic mission of serving communities and uplifting marginalized voices often clashes with shrinking budgets and burnout, while in commercial newsrooms journalists find themselves chasing clicks, ratings, and advertisers just to stay alive. He also dives into the “snowcap effect” inside news organizations, the diversity gap between leadership and staff, and what happens when communities stop trusting the people who tell their stories. 🎙️ In this episode, we get into: 00:00 - Start 04:08 - Public Media Shortcomings 05:33 - Stan Jastrzebski Interview 07:50 - What Makes Public Media Different 11:54 - Why Be In Public Media? 15:39 - But You Can’t Eat Awards 16:30 - Diversity In Public Media 22:03 - We Need More Stories from Member Stations 23:39 - Can Public Media Grow Your Career? 27:47 - What About the Fundraising Model 34:07 - Be In the Community 39:42 - Is The Most Trusted News Enough? 44:01 - State House Reporting 47:55 - The Public Media Sound 50:01 - Why Did You Become a Journalist? If you care about who controls the story and what happens when the people disappear but the algorithms stay, this episode is for you. 👇 Tell us in the comments: Do you trust public media more than commercial news? Why or why not? 🎧 Subscribe to Laid Off and Looking for more honest conversations about the future of journalism, AI, and the people keeping truth alive.

Data Journalism Isn’t Boring - You're Just Doing It Wrong

Think “data journalism” sounds dry? Think again. In this smart (and surprisingly funny) episode of Laid Off and Looking, we talk with Jess Awtry, Vice President of Digital Strategy and Communications at the Pew Research Center, about how numbers, charts, and audience analytics are shaping the future of news. Jess breaks down why data is more than spreadsheets, it’s storytelling, accountability, and the best defense we’ve got against misinformation and AI slop. From newsroom gut instincts to “clicks vs. credibility,” she explains how journalists can use data without losing their humanity (or their sense of humor). 🎙️ In this episode: 00:00 - Start 05:15 - Jess Awtry Interview 06:36 - What is Data Journalism 14:36 - Time Decay Attribution Model 36:41 - Will AI Impact Data Journalism? 41:33 - Polling Manipulation 45:28 - Longreads v TLDR 50:10 - Creator Model Journalism 54:39 - Why Did You Become a Journalist 💡 Whether you’re a data skeptic, a newsroom veteran, or just curious about how information really works, this one’s for you. 📈 Subscribe to Laid Off and Looking, where we talk about how journalism is changing, and the people trying to make sure the truth keeps up.