Hillman Prizes honor reporting that leads to public policy changes; deadline to enter is Jan. 30

Since 1950, the Sidney Hillman Foundation has honored journalists who pursue investigative reporting and deep storytelling in service of the common good. (Hillman Foundation photo)

Journalists can enter a national contest that honors “the excellence in investigative journalism and commentary in service of the common good.”

The Hillman Prizes celebrate print, digital and broadcast reporting and commentary in the public interest that exposes injustice and leads to meaningful public policy change.

The deadline to enter is Jan. 30, and winners will receive a $5,000 honorarium at an event in New York City on May 13. There is no fee to enter.

The 2025 Hillman Prizes includes awards for:

• Newspaper Reporting (story/series/multimedia — may include photo, video, graphics)
• Magazine Reporting (longform; print/online)
• Broadcast Journalism (TV, radio, podcast; at least 20 minutes in total package length)
• Opinion and Analysis Journalism (commentary and analysis in any medium)

Entries must have been published or broadcast in 2024 and made widely available to a U.S audience. Submit nominated material and a cover letter here.

For more information, visit hillmanfoundation.org

AI news: Humans write the news only to have bots steal and repost it 'under stolen or assumed identities'

AI "reporters" plagiarize stories from real publications
written by humans. (Graphic by AI robot, Adobe Stock)

Artificial intelligence bots revived a closed small-town newspaper site using culled stories and stolen reporters' names. "The defunct Daily Tidings was alive and kicking, sending out fresh stories again," reports Danny Westneat of The Seattle Times. "The site’s masthead showed eight reporters — a ton for tiny Ashland, Oregon. . . . As Oregon Public Broadcasting revealed this past week in an investigation, the entire site now is reported and written by artificial intelligence bots, under stolen or assumed identities."

"One 'reporter' they tracked down actually lives in the United Kingdom and had no clue he was practicing journalism in southern Oregon," Westneat explains. "The site pumps out about five stories a day — most of them cribbed from real publications, such as Ashland News or The Oregonian, and rewritten by AI programs." The site boasts ads and videos from "big ad-streaming companies such as Google."

The Daily Tidings past owner "told OPB he looked into suing the AI operation — whoever or whatever it is," Westneat reports. "His lawyers though said it’s coming from outside the United States, likely China. It would be 'pursuing a phantom.'"

Ashland's robot news spot isn't unique. "Sites are popping up everywhere using AI bots to create the vague appearance of journalism, usually by rewriting or repurposing articles culled from the real local media," Westneat reports. "AI tools have been developed, such as one depressingly called Spin Rewriter, that can digest an article and convert it into 1,000 'human-quality' facsimile articles."

In Seattle, the "Hoodline" news site produces stories by bots. A former human Hoodline employee, who lost her job to AI, told Westneat, "Old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting has been replaced by fake people who’ve never set foot in any of the neighborhoods they write about — because they don’t have feet."

The editor of the Ashland News, Bert Etling, "says that in Ashland, the scam journalism has been mostly just annoying," Westneat reports. "It’s a plagiarism operation, so the real town news source, his Ashland News, isn’t at much risk of getting scooped. . . . But it isn’t helping that gnawing sense that nobody believes anything anymore."

Growing up on a junkyard helped this sculpture artist learn how to 'find beauty in the overlooked'

Book cover jacket of Jeffie Brewer's newly released book Joy Machine  (K.Co Press graphic)

Growing up on a junkyard may sound depressing, but for Jeffrey or "Jeffie" Brewer, an East Texas native sculpture artist, his childhood days living among discarded things helped him develop his quirky, playful artistic style. He shares some of his artistic wisdom and childhood experiences with Olivia Weeks of The Daily Yonder. A condensed version of their Q&A is shared below.

Weeks: Tell me about yourself — who are you, what do you do, and where do you live?

Brewer: I’m just an artist specializing in colorful, silly, sometimes thoughtful sculptures that bring a touch of playfulness to public spaces, private homes, galleries, and museums. I live and work in East Texas, where I make things out of metal, often inspired by my childhood, the natural world, and whatever is rattling around in my brain at any given moment.

Weeks: Can you tell me about your town, Nacogdoches, and maybe a little about East Texas in general?

Brewer: Nacogdoches and East Texas in general have a character all their own – there’s something deeply rooted, raw, and nostalgic about the place. It’s home to lush, dense forests, rolling fields that stretch endlessly, and a lot of Texas history. The area has a quiet charm that speaks to a slower way of life, full of folks who are deeply connected to this place. . . . At my core, I am a redneck, with a thin veneer of culture and worldliness.

Weeks: In your book, Joy Machine, you write about growing up on a junkyard, and about how formative it was to your work. What were those early artistic explorations like? Did they all start with other people’s junk?

Jeffie Brewer's art brings a sense of playfulness into spaces.
(Photo by David Kimling via The Daily Yonder)

Brewer: Growing up in the junkyard taught me to find beauty in the overlooked, to take pieces from the past and either repurpose them or simply collect them. It was more a place for learning about industrial tools and working with my hands than a place for making art, per se. . . . The junkyard offered a space to destroy and rebuild, almost like a lens to see the world through. It gave me skills and memories that would later shape my understanding of what art could and would be.

Weeks: You seem to have always been into monsters and animals and creatures of all kinds — I’m thinking of your lovely 'Burds.' Where does that come from? And what’s your relationship like to the characters? Do they have personalities to you?

Brewer: Animals, creatures, and whimsical shapes have always fascinated me – they offer such freedom for imagination. 'Burds,' and other characters, let me play with personality, form, and storytelling. I see each creature as having its own charm and quirks, and in many ways, they become real to me, carrying a personality as I work on them.

Jeffie Brewer's book, Joy Machine, was released this month from K.Co Press.

Do you have a rural story to tell? Here's your chance to yarn for glory, publication and maybe some money.

The Milk House and The Daily Yonder are accepting submissions for their 2024 Best in Rural writing contest and invite authors from across the globe to enter their short stories or essays.

Entries are $5 each and all contestants will receive a code entitling them to $10 off all online writing classes offered by The Milk House. Submission deadline is Sept. 30.

The contest judge will first announce 10 shortlisted entries whose authors may elect to have their submission published by The Milk House in 2025. Afterward, the judge will select the best short story and best essay.

Last year's shortlisted tales included authors from the United States, Canada, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland. The overall winner of the Best in Rural Writing Contest will receive $500, and the runner-up $200. The winner will be announced later this year.

Some fine print: The work must be original and unpublished. By submitting, the author is agreeing to the possibility of The Milk House or The Daily Yonder publishing or promoting the submission if it is selected in the top two. After publication, all rights revert to the author.

Bit of guidance: Submissions should, in some way, be connected to 'the rural.' The manner and extent to which this is done is open to the author and not necessarily limited to rural characters or rural topics.

A one-person newsroom in Pennsylvania was first with key details of the Trump assassination attempt

Vranesevich, left, is known for his local investigative reporting.
(Beaver Countian photo)

With his internal compass focused on news that isn't being shared, John Paul Vranesevich, the owner and only full-time reporter for the Beaver Countian, in western Pennsylvania, scooped key details of the Trump shooting story before national media could confirm it. While his stories revealed "some of the U.S. Secret Service’s most dramatic failure in decades," he credits his nimble reporting to his community connections, reports Elahe Izadi of The Washington Post.

"He said that some of those long-standing sources contacted him after the rally shooting to share some of the details of what had happened that day because they were concerned that the national narrative unfolding about the shooting was inaccurate or incomplete," Izadi explains. "That it would lead the public to believe that local law enforcement had failed to do its job and had put the former president at risk."

As Vranesevich was about to publish his scoop for Beaver Countian readers, he wanted the nation to hear the details, so he "tipped off contacts on CBS’s news desk," Izadi reports. "He knew his sources would want to get their story out to a national audience. CBS News published its story hours later, crediting the Beaver Countian’s original work."

Unlike many local reporters, Vranesevich's career started with bigger name recognition as an international computer security expert and then as a writer. "After his work got the attention of the New York Times, Vanity Fair and other national press, he started the Beaver Countian as a 'one-person guerrilla journalism venture,'" Izadi writes. "He now has the help of four or five freelance editors and contributing reporters."

Bill Vidonic, a Beaver Countian freelancer, noted that "Vranesevich is seen as somewhat of a 'renegade who 'doesn’t always have to play by the rules,'" Izadi adds. Vidonic told her: “He’s been an outlier in terms of media, and I think that’s where his strength has been. A lot of people reach out to him because they don’t think he’s part of the establishment. He’s one of them.”

Free webinar on Friday about demystifying LexisNexis for research-based reporting; registration takes 2 minutes

The National Press Club Journalism Institute is hosting a learning webinar on accessing and customizing the LexisNexis database on Friday, May 17 at 11:30 a.m., E.T. 

Register here.

LexisNexis provides a library of legal, business, government, high-tech and news articles, which are starting points for researching story ideas. Its database also provides access to articles that are paywall-protected.

Because LexisNexis houses so much information, the database can be confusing. To teach reporters how to navigate this resource, award-winning investigative reporter and editor Brad Hamilton will walk participants through how to customize LexisNexis to source stories, find unexpected story angles, and identify and reach potential sources through LexisNexis’ "Contact References" database.

LexisNexis is a fee-based database service that some newsrooms provide staff access to. Most public libraries offer access to their communities, and National Press Club members have free access to the LexisNexis database as part of their annual membership. Hamilton will also provide journalists an avenue to access LexisNexis at a discount.

Have you ever wanted to know more about your family's history? This book helps generations connect with questions

TarcherPerigee image via The Atlantic

How much do you know about your mom or dad's life before they became a parent? Many of us know precious little, and when it comes to grandparents, aunts and uncles, we know even less. Anthropologist and professor Elizabeth Keating takes us on the journey of how her book, The Essential Questions: Interview Your Family to Uncover Stories and Bridge Generations, came to be in her story for The Atlantic.

In her work, Keating explored how family tales passed through generations, but as she researched the topic, a surprising pattern emerged. Keating writes, "I have been astonished to find that so many people know little of the lives of their parents and grandparents, despite the fact that they lived through some pretty interesting decades. Even my students, some of whom majored in history and excelled at it, were largely in the dark about their own family history."

As it turns out, many of us spent holidays, birthdays and family celebrations with loved ones we barely knew. "The reason many people don't know very much about their grandparents or even their parents is surprisingly simple: They've never thought to ask and didn't have the right questions," Keating explains. "When I saw how much I was learning as I interviewed families, I decided to ask my students at the University of Texas to do the same, tasking them with interviewing one of their grandparents using my questions."

As many a journalist can testify, interviews can go in surprising directions. Keating writes, "In one interview, a grandmother shared that when she was a girl during the Nazi era, one of her classmates suddenly disappeared, and none of the adults around her would talk about it. . . . . Another student's grandma talked about having to wait at the back of a restaurant to have her food handed through a window, because she was Cajun and couldn't go inside."

Keating's guide uses questions spanning 13 topics. "They include basic background information, such as where someone was born, as well as more abstract inquiries, such as how someone conceives of their identity, what they believe in, and what they've noticed about the passage of time," Keating notes. "Specificity is key. . . . And remember that the most important questions can also be the plainest. One of my favorites is just 'What do you wish people knew about you?'"

As people learn about their family members, they are keeping memories alive for the next generation. "Just as precious oral literatures and histories of whole communities are being lost the world over through rapid change, migration, language death, and a failure to ask, there is a risk that your family’s personal stories, too, will be lost forever," Keating writes. "Your parents and grandparents have unique snapshots and memories of the world they knew, and in learning about them, you can not only preserve the past but also create lasting meaning and connection. In families and communities, there are secrets to be discovered."

Tyler Childers and Silas House break new ground, telling an Appalachian LGBTQ+ love story with song and video

Tyler Childers performs at the Railbird Music
Festival in Lexington, Ky. (Photo by Silas Walker, Herald-Leader)

Appalachian LGBTQ+ love stories are just as real as other love stories, and Tyler Childers' "In Your Love" song and video, a collaboration with Silas House, tells that story, reports Monica Kast of the Lexington Herald-Leader. "Actors Colton Haynes and James Scully play two men in rural Appalachia who meet and fall in love while working as coal miners in the 1950s." Despite hostility from other miners and community members, the couple stays together, farming and loving one another. House posted on Instagram, "To our knowledge, it is the first-ever country music video with a gay storyline to be released by a major label."

Silas House (Berea College photo)

Childers and House, both Kentuckians, "wanted to tell a love story set in Appalachia. Childers pitched the idea for the music video to House and asked him to work on developing the story. Jason Kyle Howard, House's husband, wrote and provided creative direction for the video. He came up with the idea for the two main characters to be coal miners," Kast writes. "There are personal touches in the video, too. House, Howard and Childers used family photographs as inspiration for outfits in the video, making sure they were true to the period but also true to what people really wore. The cast is also made up of Appalachians and Kentuckians who represented the region."

House told Kast, "There are all kinds of different people in Appalachia and rural America, and they very rarely see themselves in the media, in film or TV, or especially in country music videos. . . . It's a gay love story, yes, but more than that, it's a love story. It's about gay people who love where they're from, and they don't want to leave it. Those men could have left not only the coal mines but they could have left the area. They chose to stay. A whole lot of people have done that, despite discrimination, because they love where they're from."

"At a time when Kentucky has seen an increase in anti-LGBTQ legislation and sentiments, House said he hopes the video will be 'a balm' for people who are hurting," Kast reports. House told Kast: "We just wanted to tell a human story that is rarely seen. Tyler Childers is one of the great storytellers of our time, especially in rural stories. This is another rural story that needs to be seen." Kast adds that Childers' album "Rustin' In the Rain" will be released Sept. 8."

Storytelling workshop teaches Appalachian children to appreciate the fading 'mountain dialect' of their grandparents

Octavia Sexton shares the 'mountain dialect.' (WEKU photo)

The voice that tells the story can be as important as the story itself. In Kentucky, the Appalachian voice is being taught by traveling teacher Octavia Sexton, reports Sam Dick of WEKU in Richmond, Ky. "She describes herself as a teaching artist who travels the state inspiring students in vocal storytelling in her mountain dialect. The 69-year-old Sexton explains to the students, 'I tell my stories in dialect. Your teacher teaches you in what’s called standard English. . . . But my dialect is a part of who I am, and I’m not ashamed of it. Don’t you ever be ashamed of the way your grandma talks.'”
 
Dick provides Sexton's recent workshop with third graders at Mount Vernon Elementary as an example. "When Sexton tells her stories that she heard from her grandparents, she moves and acts the story," Dick reports. "She explains her approach to teaching the students. 'Focus on presentation skills. We work on that a lot. I want to get them to develop speaking skills and confidence.'. . . Sexton grew up in Rockcastle County and remembers facing discrimination and being stereotyped. . . . Part of her message is about uplifting the students no matter where they come from."

Rockcastle County, Kentucky (Wikipedia)

When students were asked what they thought about Sexton's storytelling, Nine-year old Grayson Vance told Dick, “She’s really funny and she’s like a very good like storytelling about the story.” Eight-year-old Arabella Smith added, “she’s a very good voice actor.” 

Sexton's trip was financed by a grant from Arts for All Kentucky, a nonprofit. Art teacher Robin Rumsey told Dick that it’s important that Sexton brings back the Appalachian roots to the students 'that are kinda disappearing for these smaller children.'"

Romney, Kasich show respect for journalism; Kasich has advice: Do interesting stories, disdain 'clicks for hits'

After decades of abuse from politicians, especially in recent years, respect and regard from them is especially welcome. Mitt Romney, running for senator from Utah, paid tribute to journalism over the weekend, as related on Twitter by Garrett Haake of NBC News. And another Republican who doesn't care for President Trump had similar thoughts at this month's Michigan Press Association convention, as reported by Kevin Slimp on his State Of Newspapers site.

"Of all the speeches given by all the politicians at press conventions I attended this year, the best, in my humble opinion, was given by Gov. John Kasich of Ohio," Slimp writes. "There was something different about this guy. He spoke of his previous stint as a journalist."

“Something I might do again after I leave office,” Kasich said. (He hosted "Heartland with John Kasich" on Fox News from 2001 to 2007.)

"He had no prepared speech. No notes," Slimp reports, "He jumped right in, immediately discussing the importance of journalism and a free press.

“Journalism isn’t about clicks for hits,” Kasich said. “If it is, I’m not interested.”

Gov. John Kasich speaks at Michigan Press Association meeting

"He spoke of the need to get back to increased investigative reporting," Slimp reports. "He talked of giving the reader something worth reading. According to Kasich, it’s about the story.  Speaking of writing a new future for newspapers, he forcefully said, 'This industry will be saved by writing interesting stories.' Honestly, I don’t get excited about politicians. I guess I’ve just met too many of them in my time. But I couldn’t hold my enthusiasm any longer."

So Slimp shouted, “That’s right!” Kasich turned, pointed at me, and yelled, “You and me. We’re on the same side!”

Slimp concludes, "I long for the day when everyone in my industry has the same passion for journalism as John Kasich expressed in May in Lansing, Michigan."

How to discern facts from 'alternative facts'

By Danielle Ray
Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues
University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information

In an age where it is increasingly easier to make one's news intake an echo chamber, with sources that confirm beliefs rather than inform, it's more important than ever for news consumers to identify credible and non-credible sources.

Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, famously said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer had offered "alternative facts" about President Trump's inauguration, which turned out to be false. That triggered increased attention on fact checking and source credibility.

Since then, many organizations devoted to news and information have published guides to help consumers recognize phony news. The University of Kentucky Libraries launched a website titled "Breaking News: Real, Fake or Mash-up?" The site features tips consumers can use to spot fake news:

Illustratuon via University of Kentucky Libraries

Consider the source. Check out the website, the organization producing the content, its mission and its contact information.

Read further. Headlines can be outrageous to serve as "clickbait" for traffic. Don't just take the headline at its word; read the story and look for others on the same topic.

Research the author. Who wrote the story? Search to ensure that the author is real and to see what else he or she has written.

Check sources. On what is the story based? Click any links in the story to determine if they actually support the story. Look for primary sources and direct quotations. Are the sources balanced, or do they only represent one side of the issue?

Check the date. Social media makes reposting old news stories easier than ever, so knowing whether a story is timely or simply recycled could depend on the time stamp.

Consider the tone of the information. If the content seems outlandish, it could be satire, the site notes. Entertainment "news" sites like The Onion have turned news satire into an art. Check out the author and the organization producing the content to be sure.

Keep your biases in check. That unbalanced, over-the-top political news item might validate your own beliefs, but ask yourself as you're reading if you enjoy the story because it's thoroughly researched and well-reported or simply because it tells you what you want to hear.

Ask an expert. When in doubt, go to a fact-checking site like FactCheck.org, or ask a librarian, journalist or other information disseminator who practices a discipline of verification.

The aptly named CRAAP test, published by California State University at Chico's Meriam Library, focuses on five evaluation criteria: currency, relevancy, authority, accuracy and purpose.

A two-part Pew Research Center study in early 2016 revealed a public that was cautious as it moved into a more complex news environment. The study, titled "The Modern News Consumer," found that few people have much confidence in the information they get from professional outlets or friends and family, but large majorities have at least some trust in both. About 22 percent of Americans trust local news outlets a lot, according to the study. However, 60 percent of Americans reported trusting local news only somewhat. Likewise, 18 percent said they trust national news organizations a lot; 59 percent trust them somewhat.

Social media, however, earned significantly lower trust scores. Only about 4 percent of American adults said they trust a lot the news they get from social media sites. About 30 percent said they trust it somewhat.

About 75 percent of Americans said they believe the news media performs a watchdog function for political leaders, but 74 percent said they believe that news media are biased in covering political and social issues. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say the news media are biased: 87 percent of conservative Republicans, 77 percent of moderate to liberal Republicans, 73 percent of liberal Democrats and 57 percent of conservative to moderate Democrats.

For those on the other side of news consumption, The Associated Press published an e-book by Adam Clement, creative content manager at AP Content Services, focusing on transparency and trust in content marketing. Clement emphasizes four key points: be upfront, think like a journalist, listen and adapt and stand for something.

AP published a story by Barbara Ortutay in December with tips, much like those from the UK Libraries, for spotting fake news and propaganda on social media. Ortutay emphasizes checking sources, getting information from more than one source and being cognizant of emojis and unusual capitalization.

"Random use of ALL CAPS? Lots of exclamation points? Does it make sense when you read it out loud? Can you imagine a TV newscaster reading it out loud? Is there something just off about it? Does it sound very angry, inflammatory, emotional? None of these are good signs," she writes.

When it comes to social media, it's often hard for news consumers to distinguish fact from fiction. Information is rampant and relentless across social media platforms, but Ortutay warns that immediate access to unlimited content isn't always a news-lover's paradise.

"Facebook users often share articles without reading them. Don't be that person," she writes. "Instead, click on the link and read the story before hitting the 'share' button."

If you believe a story to be fake, report it to Facebook for outside fact-checking by clicking the gray arrow in the upper corner and select "report this post." Facebook and Google have recently taken steps to restrict the distribution of fake or poorly sourced news.

For more information on how to spot fake news, "truthiness" and clickbait, read Merrimack College's communication and media professor Melissa Zimdars's Washington Post story about her "fake news list" that went viral here and her original guide to analyzing news sources here.

International Storytelling Center is bankrupt

The International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tenn., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Ken Little reports for the Knoxville News Sentinel. The center is the host of the acclaimed National Storytelling Festival held each October since 1973. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is the largest creditor of the $4 million debt carried by the center. Its assets are listed in court documents as $56,000 cash on hand.

Jimmy Neil Smith, the center's executive director and founder of the festival, told Little that several factors have affected its finances. The mortgage on the 14,000 square-foot Mary B. Martin Storytelling Hall, built in 2002, is "one of the things that is dragging us down," Smith said. The recession has also hurt the center. Attendance to the festival was down in 2008 and 2009 (but slightly up in 2010). Up to 60 percent of the organization's annual revenue is derived from the sfestival, court documents say. Smith told Little that a study done at East Tennessee State University found the festival has an economic impact of nearly $7 million in Jonesborough and helps create almost 100 jobs.  Said Bob Browning, town administrator: "It's not something we can afford to lose. We need to do whatever we can to make it as strong as we can."

Smith emphasized that the Storytelling Center will remain open, the annual Teller-in-Residence program will continue, and the 2011 National Storytelling Festival will be held as scheduled. (Read more)