advocate
An advocate is a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.
breaking news
Breaking news events are timely incidents that are transpiring in the moment that the public should be informed about. Some examples include a tornado warning, the death of a celebrity, or a natural disaster.
civic engagement
Civic engagement refers to people’s participation in topics of public and social concern, especially activities relating to political or nonprofit organizations that benefit the greater community or spur positive change within society. For example, this includes activities like volunteering (e.g. at community gardens or food pantries) and electoral participation.
issue
An issue is a topic of journalistic coverage that guides the article writing conducted by reporters.
Reporters—or their editors—research the topics that are popular with the public and timely for coverage. Journalists may gain these insights by talking with people in the community or researching daily news events that they could write about.
If the journalist discovers an issue that they would like to cover, they may “pitch,” or present, it to their editor. If the editor approves their idea, they will be able to cover it. However, sometimes an editor will have a story that they will assign to a particular reporter. The indivduals who make these decisions about what topics to cover are called “gatekeepers” because they determine what information reaches audiences.
news avoidance
Selective news avoidance is the practice in which people selectively avoid the news on certain topics. Reasons for avoiding may be a result of feelings exhausted/worn out by the news, a lack of trust in the news, and/or a belief that the news is too negative or overabundant.
For more information, check out News Over Noise Episode 101.
social media
Social media includes applications like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, among others, that facilitate the sharing of ideas and networking among social circles online.
society
Society refers to the extensive group of individuals cohabiting together. Within a society, social interactions and community sharing occurs between members.
source
Sources include the people, organizations, or applications from which journalists gather information for their news project.
A reputable source is one that is credible and believable to gather or learn information from. They are likely backed by evidence, empirical data, and outside research.