Akoto Ofori-Atta

Language in the Press Forward "Closing Local Coverage Gaps" program FAQ warms my heart: Using LION: Local Independent Online News Publishers' definition of sustainability as a framework, we will prioritize outlets that are intentional about their editorial impact, operational resilience, and/or financial health. We will support organizations that have a clear plan for how they will use this investment as a foundational step toward developing and maintaining a long-term business model. https://lnkd.in/eGKFYhGz #impact #localnews #sustainability

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DOS Won't Hunt -- Recording Schedule through December   Interested panelists, please contact me directly via email, not just with comments on this post: [email protected]   Note to public relations teams: please only pitch panelists you have CONFIRMED will be available on those dates. This is a video podcast recording. Only the panelists will be in the session. Here are the topics I plan to cover on the podcast in the weeks ahead. All recordings will be on video, panel discussions, at 12 pm ET on the recording dates below.   December 6 – What Enterprise IT Predictions Actually Mattered in 2024? Every year sees prognostications about what tech will take off, evolve, and transform the enterprise world. What expectations did your organization start 2024 with and how has that played out? Did anything hold water? Did surprises in tech emerge during the year eclipse the predictions? Is it better for organizations to not chase predictive trends or does that mean giving up a competitive edge? December 13 – The Cloud You Want vs the Cloud You Need: Are enterprises able to tailor their cloud resources to fit their operational needs? How does that compare with ambitions? Cost? Usage? Are more organizations cloud-first? Are we ever going to see an all, cloud-first world where EVERYTHING exists in the cloud? Does that dream no longer seem real?   December 20 – Cyber Threats and the Holidays: Do retailers still face high levels of cyber risk in a world fraught with ransomware attacks year-round? Do bad actors focus their attention more on targets they strike when an opportunity arises, which might not have anything to do with the holiday shopping season? Or are there still Cyber Grinches out there who are making a concerted effort to strike as transactions fly faster than reindeer? December 27 – Infrastructure Resilience: Y2K 25 Years Later. What have we learned about maintaining our infrastructure, a generation after putting in the work to correct the Y2K bug? How has computer infrastructure been rethought? What “rules” and “norms” that were part of legacy tech no longer apply in the time of cloud, edge, and all else beyond we are exploring?

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It's easy to think about AI within the context of a CMS. Of using AI to optimize writing, editing, and SEO workflows. The more exciting choice is putting AI in the hands of reporters early on in the process. Over the weekend we published a deep look at how immigration is being portrayed in political ads this election cycle. It's an absorbing read--with editing and reporting from multiple desks across the newsroom. It's also the debut of one of our AI-powered reporting tools: Haystacker. We carved out a lane in our roadmap for "Ambitious Journalism"--this is what it looks like. https://lnkd.in/eTteMFxY

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A course I really need to take: This is a deeply comprehensive strategy and skill course on how journalists should apply for grants from Alanna Dvorak and Arina Lekht at the International Fact-Checking Network: Highly recommend! It's free! #GrantWriting #nonprofitnews

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As I approach my third month at The Baltimore Banner, I have been thinking a lot about defining success. A mentor offered the following thoughts: For reporters, it is much easier to define success. Editors often need help seeing that their goals should be quite different than their reporters'. They need to see each of their reporters as individuals with different strengths and weaknesses. So editors need to meet each reporter at a different place and help them improve, and hopefully, thrive. Sometimes that means focusing on reporting or writing skills, sometimes it is helping a reporter figure out how to cover a beat, or how to distinguish their work from the competition. Editors of course are key to guiding coverage, whether it's breaking news or a more conceptual beat, when the goal has to be finding the front edge of the topic (for an education reporter, that might be new trends in teaching and for the city hall reporter it might be who are the emerging power brokers.) When it comes to editing copy, editors have to avoid rewriting stories, which can completely demoralize reporters, but they also can't send along stories that are confusing or take too long to get to the point. It takes awhile for editors to figure out that sweet spot between improving copy but not just rewriting it the way they would have written it. The hardest part of editing is probably dealing with difficult reporters and there is no easy answer for that. The only part of running a newsroom that I could advise on is running the coverage and for me, that was always driven by focusing on the big news of the day. You have to make sure that editors have put enough staffers on the big stories and are looking across the news cycle, e.g. what will we have to publish first thing tomorrow, and make sure some people are trained on the bigger, deeper questions that take a few days to report. If you are clear on your top priorities each day and the newsroom aligns behind those, then the smaller stories will take care of themselves. You will be judged by how the Banner did on the big things, not the small things.

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As the digital landscape shifts, so must our strategies in #advocacy and #publicaffairs. Looking forward to attending today's Summit and participating in discussion on the intersection of public opinion, message and tech. https://lnkd.in/ed__dgHA #digitaladvocacy #digitalstrategy #DMAS24

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How should the media respond to any falsehoods without amplifying them? What’s the best way to report on anti-democratic rhetoric while maintaining impartiality? And how can newsrooms build trust with an audience that’s increasingly fractured along ideological lines?

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We've talked about the >10 reasons why News is in trouble: Locally, Nationally, & Globally, and why we at Prohaska Consulting are working on fixing 3 of them thru our industry initiative The Rebranding of News with a larger next phase & announcement coming in the fall. Several reasons focused on Local are highlighted well here by our friend Howard Homonoff from Grant Thornton (US), with thanks for the mention. https://lnkd.in/enN6n-2j

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Trailblazing for a Diverse Tech Future: Challenges & Solutions for Black Tech Founders Black tech founders share their experiences as first-generation pioneers in the industry, discussing the burden of being trailblazers and the lack of representation. Discover how they aim to overcome obstacles and create opportunities for themselves and future generations. #BlackTechFounders #DiversityInTech #Trailblazers #TechPioneers #RepresentationMatters #TechIndustryChallenges #Entrepreneurship #TechCommunity #AccessToCapital #CreatingOpportunities Listen to the entire interview at https://lnkd.in/eMASrZwK

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"Articulating the value of your journalism takes more than just sharing links. It’s about showing the impact of your work so far, describing your relationship with your community, and putting together a proposal that allows you to execute on this work." the latest on revenue building from Penny Riordan, Local Media Association If you’re looking to grow your work with philanthropic support, here is how to get started: https://lnkd.in/dVQVYQBy

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My latest for PRNEWS is for anyone serving as a trusted advisor to a Black woman leader. This is a moment where communicators must be equipped with the language, understanding, and expertise to effectively support Black women who may face attacks rooted in misogynoir, especially as Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the Presumptive Democratic Nominee for President of the United States. Delivering for Black women means having the competence to understand the context of the systemic harms and barriers experienced by Black women. Sometimes, there are well-meaning allies who lack this competence, and it’s important for everyone to step their game up. As a Black man in communications, I strive to elevate conversations that can educate my peers, challenge structures and traditions of institutions and systemic prejudices. Silence is not an option when systems are designed for someone's downfall. The incoming onslaught of bad faith attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris and visible Black women leaders may be rife with misogynoir, and communications professionals must be ready to combat and reject it. Check out the article in full. #pr #communications #genz #misogynoir https://lnkd.in/euhhJbwm

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If you take a look on TikTok, under hashtags like #blackwomenrest and #restera, you’ll see videos from some Black women who mobilized in support of Kamala Harris, and are now pledging to prioritize self-care in the wake of the election. For one of my favorite stories I’ve written for The New York Times, I spoke with some of the women who made these videos to understand how they’re feeling after President-elect Trump’s victory, and to learn more about what a “rest era” means to them. Read more below! https://lnkd.in/esXgR86X

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The Wall Street Journal editor Paul Beckett’s account in the Columbia Journalism Review of how the Journal mobilized to free Evan Gershkovich after 16th months as a prisoner in Russia is a tour de force and “a free press triumph” and well worth the read. Some excerpts: A phone call to a senior government official who knows this terrain provided the answer: “There are times to be quiet and there are times to be loud—and this is a time to be loud.” “Yet on days like August 1 (when he was freed), the values that underpin democracy and are the foundation of a free press triumph.” “Few countries that are not democracies could point to such care for their ordinary citizens abroad, let alone noncitizens imprisoned for their political beliefs.” “news organizations must continue to assess and calibrate the risks their reporters face when operating in dangerous terrain. Perhaps they need to make more hard-nosed choices on whether it is necessary to deploy in person to countries that target journalists or whether that terrain can effectively be covered from outside, given advances in technology and communications.” “And they could ensure that press freedom around the world—an issue so fundamental to their existence that it is often taken for granted—is a subject they cover as if their livelihoods and their liberty depended on it.” https://lnkd.in/etZTVCeB

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I’m thrilled to announce that Tara Parker-Pope from The Washington Post will be joining Thrive Global as our Chief Content Officer. Tara was part of the team awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service for coverage of the pandemic, and she’ll bring her deep expertise in health and science journalism to build on our mission of improving health outcomes. As the founding editor of The New York Times’ “Well” and the Well+Being Editor at The Washington Post, Tara’s career has been defined by her commitment to making health information both accessible and actionable. With Tara at the helm, Thrive will be able to accelerate our creation of authoritative, science-backed behavior change content that meets users where they are to support them in their work lives, their home lives and their health. She’ll also be collaborating closely with Thrive AI Health, the new company we’re launching, along with the OpenAI Startup Fund, to build the Thrive AI Health Coach and democratize access to expert-level health coaching at scale. It's also a logical next step for Tara, who says that the pandemic was transformative for her in thinking of ways her work could have an even bigger influence on helping people improve their health. As she put it, "For years my focus in journalism has been to offer readers science-based health information that is both actionable and easy. Now I'm thrilled to be joining the Thrive team and expand this mission to focus on health outcomes and empowering more people to live healthy, happier lives.” Tara couldn’t be joining at a more important time, both for Thrive and for the opportunity before us. As Andreessen Horowitz’s Daisy Wolf and Vijay Pande, PhD wrote recently: “The biggest step changes in human health lie not just in curing every disease, but in revolutionizing the consumer experience. We can markedly improve our health by simplifying health monitoring, ensuring medication adherence, and promoting healthier lifestyles — all areas where traditional healthcare companies have struggled. Tech and consumer-focused disruptors, whose expertise is in user engagement and behavioral change, are well-positioned to reimagine and democratize care, leading to better health outcomes, lower costs, and an empowered population. The challenge is immense, but so is the opportunity." As we push to transform the consumer healthcare experience and use AI to empower people to take control of their health and well-being, improving the consumer experience is the key to the disruption we’re bringing to healthcare, and Tara’s record of creating engaging, actionable, delightful, consumer-grade content is at the heart of that mission. We're thrilled to bring someone with Tara's long record of creating best-in-class health journalism to take on both the challenges and opportunities and have an even bigger impact on health outcomes. Welcome, Tara! 

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As many of the folks in my network gear up for #ClimateWeekNYC, I wrote about the importance of storytelling for the weekly 17 Communications impact newsletter. DM me if you'd like to be added to the distribution list! See below for an excerpt and read the full newsletter at https://lnkd.in/eGPCPckD I’ve attended Climate Week NYC for each of the past two years and have always come away feeling excited, inspired and curious. There are so many people doing such interesting things to address climate change, even if the news cycle most days seems apocalyptic. News stories about heat waves, droughts or natural disasters don’t seem to have quite the same effect as they used to – perhaps because we’ve all become numb to the tragedy. But there are still some mediums that are capable of breaking through the numbness and motivating changes in people’s behavior. Books. On my train ride to last year’s Climate Week NYC I read “The Ministry for the Future,” a climate sci-fi book that explored what it might look like if the world got its act together in time. The author, Kim Stanley Robinson, recently gave an interview to the FT in which he said that people are attracted to the book because it can replace “feelings of futility or despair” with “relatively justifiable hope.” As for his motivation? “You tell the story in an attempt to forestall it by informing people in advance.” My take is that the book found a way to balance blind optimism and cynical pessimism in a way that felt refreshingly human. Most news coverage these days tends towards the dark and stormy, but long-form writers like Robinson are able to take a step back and offer a more balanced perspective that feels more real and accessible for a general audience. TV. Like many of my colleagues who work in finance, I’ve become enamored by the steady stream of excellent TV series that bring viewers into the wacky world of finance. Billions is the most obvious example, but even hit shows like Silicon Valley and Succession explore complex financial themes that are integral to the narrative. The new show that should be on everyone’s watchlist is Industry, which explores the inner workings and general tomfoolery of an investment bank in London. While their episodes focused on the ESG craze have been cringeworthy, I appreciate that a major company like HBO would green-light a project that offers a somewhat realistic view into how the finance world works, and why it sometimes doesn’t work. The 3rd episode, which is primarily set at a major climate conference, shows how the worlds of finance and sustainability interact, with profit rather than purpose motivating most decision-making. The link between these examples is storytelling... Stories are what power human ingenuity and creativity, and are how we are able to connect across racial, cultural and economic divides. 

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Kudos to Eleanor Hawkins and the Axios Communicators team for their "1 big thing" visual of the day. Yes, it's reductive guidance on when to speak out and when not to, and yes, you should think through it with more nuance and specificity to a situation at hand, but these are great questions to start with when you're wondering how to communicate through murky or uncomfortable events. Some other questions to consider: ▶ Do we know enough about this situation? If not, do we have a sense of timing for more information to come through? ▶ Can we meaningfully influence the situation by speaking out? ▶ If we are communicating about this, who is the right person to serve as our voice?

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Last week, I had the privilege of attending the News Product Alliance Forum at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. It was wonderful to reconnect with familiar faces but equally gratifying to meet many new people — some previously known to me only as avatars in Slack. This forum has a unique focus on the product space and the people behind it. Attendees included editors, developers, and leaders from both local and international organizations. There were representatives from the organizations you'd expect, but a few you might not; Netflix and Apple. The participants collaboratively suggested a schedule and proposed talks. Some highlights included: • Gen AI is a UX Revolution: How Do We Reimagine News Products? • The article holds back change in everything—how can we move past it? • What do we learn from spaces outside media to make news more personal for readers • How might we build direct first-party relationships with readers? • The worst AI ideas you heard Throughout these discussions, we delved into community and audience needs, impact measurement, monetization strategies, technology, experimental approaches, and leadership and editorial processes. The conversations were extensive and there was a lot to absorb. I'm still processing all the insights and discussions from the forum, but it was an energizing and creative space, well worth dedicating part of my weekend to. I’m confident that many of our projects and experiments this year at Rest of World will be shaped by these two days. I firmly believe that collaboration is crucial for the next phase of news organization development and the overall health of our industry. Fortunately, many people in our industry share this belief.

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