"The ragtag staff of ad sales reps, accountants and toilet paper pushers-turned journalists staffing "The Paper," Peacock's new spinoff of "The Office," can't see the forest for the trees, or a raging fire outside their own window. They need some serious help if they are going to provide news for the fictional Toledo Truth Teller at the heart of the show, which dropped Sept. 4."
"Lucky for them, Poynter is here to help. For the last 50 years, we've trained thousands of reporters in essential skills. We've helped green new managers navigate conflict and lead effective teams. We've worked with struggling news organizations on strategies to make their operations more sustainable. But, yeah, OK, even we admit this is a challenge. The TTT is a mess, with an idealistic but misguided editor who has spent most of his career selling toilet paper for the paper's owner, a former Stars and Stripes reporter who is the only one with any journalism chops, and a group of colorful bystanders who are, politely put, ethically challenged and clueless."
"Let's start here: In episode four, staffer Adam Cooper asks, "Isn't the byline like the article's very last line? It's like 'Bye!' " We're going to have everyone sit down and read " Here are all the journalism terms you need to know, defined ," which will set the layfolk straight on terms used in the business. (A budget, you say? Isn't that our revenue and expenses? Well ...)"
The Paper depicts a dysfunctional local newsroom staffed by nonjournalists who miss major problems and fail to produce reliable news. Poynter offers five decades of training for reporters, managers and news organizations to build essential skills, resolve conflict and improve sustainability. The fictional Toledo Truth Teller suffers from an idealistic editor with limited newsroom experience, one capable reporter, and ethically challenged staff. Recommended interventions include basic journalism terminology instruction, leadership training, ethics and labor-law guidance, editing and newsroom workflow improvements, and a focus on community journalism to restore reporting quality and operational stability.
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