
Axios Allows Its Reporters to Join Protests - aspenmayer
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/business/media/axios-allows-reporters-protest-march.html
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aspenmayer
For an example of the kinds of coverage you can get when you are trusted by
your sources and actually get close to them to do journalism on the ground in
real time, watch Andrew Callaghan's Minneapolis protest coverage on his
YouTube channel, _All Gas No Brakes_ :

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZPeD2miyF8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZPeD2miyF8)

At one point you see a syndicated camera operator. Andrew asks him if they're
allowed to interview people. The operator seems to smile and nod, which makes
you wonder why they setup far away from the protests to get a wide shot of
open flames. It's easy to frame the debate when you are at a distance. Showing
the ground reality lets the story speak for itself.

'In a companywide email on Monday that was reviewed by The New York Times, Jim
VandeHei, the co-founder and chief executive of Axios, said, “First, let me
say we proudly support and encourage you to exercise your rights to free
speech, press, and protest. If you’re arrested or meet harm while exercising
these rights, Axios will stand behind you and use the Family Fund to cover
your bail or assist with medical bills.”

'Mr. VandeHei’s email was sent in reply to an employee who had asked about the
company’s stance on protesting as part of a weekly practice at Axios where
staff members anonymously submit questions to managers. The company has 192
people on staff, about half of them newsroom employees.

'Axios is known for its newsletters on topics including politics, tech,
finance and sports. Its main political newsletter, written by Mike Allen, is
part of a daily ritual for Washington insiders. The company has over one
million subscribers and a biweekly HBO show.'

'Ethics guidelines at The Times — similar to many other newsrooms across the
country — say the company’s journalists “may not march or rally in support of
public causes or movements” or publicly take positions on public issues. It
adds, “doing so might reasonably raise doubts about their ability or The
Times’s ability to function as neutral observers in covering the news.”'

For those who have trouble with the link:

[https://web.archive.org/web/20200609172602/https://www.nytim...](https://web.archive.org/web/20200609172602/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/business/media/axios-
allows-reporters-protest-march.html)

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LastOfTheFamous
>It adds, “doing so might reasonably raise doubts about their ability or The
Times’s ability to function as neutral observers in covering the news.”'

Well, I guess it's a good thing then Axios isn't suspect of being a neutral
observer in the first place. I wonder how cool the company would be actually
with an employee speaking out in favor of President Trump, against wanton
violence towards cops or even against discriminatory hiring practices with
regard to White and Asian men.

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aspenmayer
Employees of Axios don't share polital views as a rule, so I'm not sure what
you are referring to. I don't see how that is consistent with the rest of the
article:

'In a statement Axios provided to The Times, Mr. VandeHei said the note did
not represent a change in company policy. “We trust our colleagues to do the
right thing, and stand firmly behind them should they decide to exercise their
constitutional right to free speech,” he said in the statement.

'Axios has a social media policy that prohibits the sharing of political
views. In an October 2018 column, Mr. VandeHei said news organizations “should
ban their reporters from doing anything on social media — especially Twitter —
beyond sharing stories.” He added: “Snark, jokes and blatant opinion are
showing your hand, and it always seems to be the left one. This makes it
impossible to win back the skeptics.”'

~~~
LastOfTheFamous
>Employees of Axios don't share polital views as a rule, so I'm not sure what
you are referring to. I don't see how that is consistent with the rest of the
article

That is blatantly untrue. Axios is so slanted to left bias that is hurts.
Check the frontpage: 8 out of 10 stories are clearly pro-BLM, anti-police or
anti-Trump. The rest are on Covid-19.

Take the Twitter profiles of the Top 3 authors on Axios:

[https://twitter.com/jacknutson](https://twitter.com/jacknutson)
[https://twitter.com/erica_pandey](https://twitter.com/erica_pandey)
[https://twitter.com/davidlawler10](https://twitter.com/davidlawler10)

The tweets and re-tweets are no much different from actual political
activists.

