RoA Update Spring 2023

Hi everyone,

We have had quite a first half of the year! To start the year, we wrapped up the creation of our first strategic plan with First Quadrant Advisory Institute for Social Impact (what a great team!). As part of this work, we realized we need to do a better job of keeping y’all in the loop about the many things we are working on and, in turn, get more feedback on future directions. So, here’s our first of what will become quarterly updates from our full team.

Let’s get up-to-speed about our team, resources and events from Reporting on Addiction:

New Team Member

We’re very excited to welcome award winning journalist and New York University Masters of Public Health Student Lindsey Ellefson to the Reporting on Addiction team! Lindsey is our first summer research intern. We’ll let Lindsey introduce herself below:

Hi! I’m Lindsey Ellefson, a journalist and student at NYU’s School of Global Public Health. I’m so excited to be the special project intern at Reporting on Addiction, where I’m looking forward to researching news consumers’ perceptions on the overdose crisis and substance use. I have written about substance use, recovery, and harm reduction for a number of outlets, including Vanity Fair, WIRED, The New Republic, BuzzFeed News, The Daily Beast, and the USC Center for Health Journalism. It’s my hope that my research can help all of us who cover these important topics.

Opioid Settlement Resources for Journalists

Our biggest launch in 2023 so far has been a set of resources to support journalists covering the opioid settlement funds as they enter our communities. We have also been conducting newsroom trainings specific to these lawsuit settlements with an eye towards accountability and watchdog reporting (see more below!). You can view the resources and request a training here.

We’re also hosting fireside chats with journalists and experts to offer tips to newsrooms digging into these monies in their communities. We were so happy to have award winning KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani as our first guest to discuss their reporting in this space. View the recording of the conversation here.

To receive updates about the the opioid settlement resources directly into your inbox - change your settings here or reply to this email!

Complicating the Narrative Fellowship

This month, our co-founder and co-director Ashton Marra was also named a member of the newest cohort of Complicating the Narrative Fellows through the Solutions Journalism Network! 

Over the next year, Ashton will be using the fellowship to create a microgrant that will financially support solutions-focused addiction, treatment and recovery stories. We’ll have updates about the application process this fall, so please keep an eye on your inbox!

Training Professional and Student Journalists

From the start, we have been hosting trainings to help increase journalists’ understanding of addiction science and help support newsrooms working to make their coverage more ethical and empathetic by implementing our resources. In 2023 alone, we have reached more than 100 reporters through trainings with:

• KFF Health News and NPR partnership reporting group
• University of Wisconsin Center for Ethical Journalism, in partnership with the Wisconsin Press and Broadcast Associations
• New York State Press Association
• Kentucky Press Association 
• Iowa Newspaper Foundation
• Partnership of public media reporters focused on DEI issues
• West Virginia Public Broadcasting
• Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University

To help build out the pool of expert sources for members of the news media, we also provide training to experts through training and experts through experience including:

• Georgetown University students in the Masters of Addiction Policy & Practice major
• Northwest ATTC 
• University of Oregon 
• College on Problems of Drug Dependence (June 17-21 in Denver, CO!)

What's Next

More training and more resources! 

• We’re expanding our Journalism Educator cohort by adding 9 new journalism schools to the fold this summer! This year, we’re expanding our curriculum to include trauma-informed approaches to reporting and support for conversations around journalistic ethics in the space. Our 2023 cohort is already complete, but you can let us know you’re interested in applying for 2024 here!
• In the second half of 2023 we’ll launch a visual-specific resource for journalists, including a one-page style guide, case studies, curriculum for college journalism courses, and a stock photo database for newsrooms to have a curated set of non-stigmatizing or retraumatizing images to share alongside their stories about addiction. Stay tuned for more details! 
• And thanks to feedback we’ve heard from many of you, we are also planning to spend this summer creating topic-specific toolkits to provide reporting tips, context and additional resources about current topics. Have a topic in mind? Reply to this email to let us know!

This project is not possible without your guidance, support and engagement. We appreciate all that you do to spread the word and advocate for our resources to be used in your communities. As always, we’d love to hear from you about what we’re doing or could be doing to make an impact.

And if you have the ability, your financial support can also help us continue this work. Make a tax deductible gift here today.  

The Reporting on Addiction team