I’m delighted to be back in Florida, helping teach “A New Curriculum for a New Journalism.” It’s proving to be a lively conversation already. I’m always fascinated by the common problems across journalism programs so diverse, from huge schools to tiny concentrations within another department. We’re all talking about so many of the same things. Participants can link to to resources that will live on after we’re done at...

One ethics theory I find most compelling is called the “Veil of Ignorance.” To arrive at a morally justifiable outcome, identify those affected by your choice. Make your decision knowing you would be put into one of those affected groups after your choice, but because of the veil you wouldn’t know which one until after you’re put there. This should lead you to morally justifiable actions because you identify with all sides affected. The Republicans have just proven themselves incapable of that moral reasoning (here’s one reason why, by the way,...

I will go to sleep tonight, but I will not rest. It will be my eighth fitful night. My state stands at a precipice, and I fear the abyss. Our governor is pushing a radical agenda he calls modest. Our unions are proceeding with an extended work stoppage they call necessary. National media are pulling the sides further apart, hardening the lines to score points and thus money. My state’s motto: forward. We are moving: backward. I grew up here. For all but one year, I’ve worked here my entire career, in both the private and public sectors. These are the things I know about...

The upending of the traditional business model of journalism has brought many questions and concerns, but among them, this is one of my biggest fears: are we losing courageous reporting on state government. I spent my reporting infancy in the arms of a ferocious state reporter named Neil Shively, of the Milwaukee Sentinel. Neil was so intent on protecting citizens’ interest in monitoring their representatives that he refused to accept the governor’s embargoed budget. He declined the advanced copy of the budget, saying he wouldn’t agree to not write about it until the...

If you would like to join me in a Cover It Live session to live-blog Jacob’s virtual visit to class, please feel free. WordPress just updated their back-end, so I can now embed the live-blog right here. J676 with Jacob Kushner