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Erica Mandy's Newsworthy 6 Point Blueprint for OBJECTIVELY Better Radio
Episode 191 • 3rd November 2023 • Brandwidth On Demand • David Martin & Kipper McGee
00:00:00 00:16:57

Shownotes

In this compelling podcast episode, we welcome back Erica Mandy, the acclaimed broadcast journalist behind The Newsworthy podcast. From leaving CBS to launching her daily news podcast in 2017, Erica shares insights into her journey, marked by millions of monthly downloads and accolades from Harper's Bazaar and Podchaser. Recognized as one of the top 25 women in podcasting, Erica's commitment to speed, fairness, and objectivity in news reporting shines through.

You'll gain valuable lessons as Erica discusses the challenges of maintaining neutrality, avoiding sensationalism, and balancing ratings with content integrity...especially in news. She provides actionable advice for aspiring journalists, emphasizing continuous improvement and resilience in the face of criticism.

This episode is a concise guide for radio stations and individuals looking to enhance their news reporting, offering a glimpse into the mind of one of the industry's influential figures.

Some Key Takeaways you won't want to miss:

(01:58) Understanding Multiple Perspectives

(03:00) Thorough Research and Context:

(03:57) Controlling Sensational, Positive and Negative language

(05:51) Recognizing Personal Biases

(10:00) Dealing with Pressure


Special Episode celebrating International Podcast Day:

Hear the Origin of The Newsworthy podcast here



Read ONE-MINUTE MARTINZING by Dave Martin

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Transcripts

Erica:

I think I always like to first differentiate between pundits on

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cable channels who very clearly have

a slant and an agenda and they're

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really just giving out their opinions

versus these journalists who are really

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doing their best to be objective.

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Welcome to BRANDwidth On Demand,

your guide to rebooting radio.

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Always look to improve and also don't

overstress because I think sometimes

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we end up hating the news if we're

letting it get to us too much.

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So just do your best and keep going.

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BRANDwidth On Demand.

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Rebooting radio with a different

take on all radio can be.

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Now, your guides through the media

morphosis, David Martin, and author

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of the book, BRANDwidth, media

branding coach, Kipper McGee.

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Our

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Dave: guest is an award winning

broadcast journalist who left her job

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at CBS in Los Angeles to launch a daily

news podcast called The Newsworthy.

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Each morning, she provides a 10

minute rundown of the most important

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headlines as well as weekend long

form interviews with newsmakers.

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Her casual and concise style

helps listeners save time and

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energy for what matters most.

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She's passionate about providing an

unbiased and informative way to stay up

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to date on news while providing multiple

perspectives so her audience gets more

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understanding and fewer eye rolls.

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Since its launch in 2017, the

Newsworthy has been downloaded

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millions of times per month.

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Has been featured in publications

like Harper's Bazaar, Fast Company,

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People Magazine, many others.

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She's also a frequent speaker at

journalism conferences and events,

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a strong advocate for diversity

and inclusion in the news industry.

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Since she's last with us, she's been

named one of the top 25 women in

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podcasting by Podchaser, awarded the

best podcast by Harper's Bazaar magazine.

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Wow.

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And featured as a can't

miss podcast by Stitcher.

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BRANDwidth On Demand is proud to

welcome back one of the very few

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objective news anchors in media today.

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Here's Erica Mandy.

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Hey, Erica.

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Erica: Hey, Erica.

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Welcome.

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Thank you so much for having me on.

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Kipper: Well, we are glad to have

you back and always appreciate

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your making time for us.

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Of course.

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So one thing that continues to impress

me day after day with your news is

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just your sense of objectivity with

everything going on from politics,

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presidential race, unthinkable things

in the Middle East, Ukraine here.

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So in keeping with your mantra

of fast, fair, and fun...

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what do you see as the most

important things to keep in mind

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when trying to be objective whether

covering or anchoring a news

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Erica: story?

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So I think regardless of what's

happening, we really try to understand all

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perspectives through a variety of sources.

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So that might be different

types of experts.

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We're talking to other news outlets.

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We're reviewing and citing potentially

what various reporters on the

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ground are saying, and then also

even looking at what's getting a

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lot of attention on social media

so that we know what our listeners

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might be saying or seeing online.

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And we can address any of

that if needed as well.

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So to be clear, that doesn't mean that.

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We're necessarily including everything

that we see in our show, but doing

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all of that research across multiple

platforms, multiple sources, it gives us

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all the information to then decide what

perspectives do we already have and need

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to include what is still missing, or

perhaps is not verified enough to include

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and or what other context might need to

be added if we include certain things.

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And we also often ask ourselves.

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If a person who supports one side hears

this story, how are they going to feel?

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Did we represent them fairly

in at least part of it?

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And then we ask that question for all the

different perspectives while also keeping

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in mind that we are going to be factual.

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And if there's something that

we can't verify, or if there's

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any claims that warrant it, we

will provide necessary context.

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So ultimately, as I'm sure other

journalists are familiar with.

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Even a one minute, two minute story

in our podcast means that we've

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spent a lot more time researching in

order to be as thorough and objective

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as we can be with our format.

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And obviously, this is more complex

and time consuming for stories

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like the Israel Hamas War and much

more straightforward and much more

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simple for other types of stories.

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Dave: Good point.

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You know, one of the many things

that set your newscast apart is your

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positivity and your use of extremely

neutral language and keeping your

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news stories as brief as possible.

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What tips do you have for an anchor

who wants to stick to the facts

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and let the reader or viewer?

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Draw their own conclusions.

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Erica: Yeah, I think the positivity

piece comes from like the variety of

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stories that we do and trying to avoid

being overly Sensational and I think

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it really does not take much for the

audience to Notice something that makes

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them feel that we're being biased.

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So we really try to avoid words like

shocking and bombshell and amazing

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because I think In a lot of ways,

these are opinions and they make it

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sound sensational and it shows a slant.

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So I think in general, unless it's really,

really called for, we try to avoid that.

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I think the other key thing is

to just, yeah, think about every

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word and what it represents.

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So that's being really

mindful of things like titles.

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So one example might be a certain

Florida bill that everyone was

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talking about for a while that's

known as the don't say gay bill.

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But I think it's our responsibility

to make sure our audience knows that.

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That's actually a nickname from

critics, and we present it in a

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way, no matter how we feel about

it, we present it in a way that is

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clear that critics are calling this.

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This is why critics call it that

and what supporters of the bill

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who passed it are saying about

it and what they call it as well.

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And I think for anchors specifically.

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It also really matters

what our tone of voice is.

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I want to be really mindful about

how I present with my tone, each

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perspective and what my tone might

be communicating to the audience in

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addition to the words that I'm saying.

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Kipper: For somebody who's just starting

out in the business today and wants to

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be as good as they can be at being an

objective journalist, what suggestions

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would you have for them to make sure they

keep their own personal biases in check

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and not let those biases influence the way

a story is written, read, or delivered?

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Erica: First, explicitly and

actively asking yourself.

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If every perspective was fairly

represented in your story, so

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it's taking the time and being

mindful of it is the first step.

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And then I also try to recognize in

myself if I'm feeling overly validated

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or overly upset about a particular story

that we're writing or that I'm reading,

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then there's probably a problem, right?

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So it tells me that I might be

too extreme one way or the other.

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And so I try to feel that I'm not

feeling any certain way about a story.

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So I think it's those two things.

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I also think, in general, it's good

to have more than one pair of eyes

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on every story whenever possible.

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If you can have someone read it

over and say, Hey, is this coming

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across fair, objective to you or any

other questions you have about it?

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It's always good to get a

second perspective if you

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can, if you have the time.

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I know the resources aren't always

available, but we do try to at

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least have two pairs of eyes on

every story before we air it.

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Kipper: But listening to your

newscast, I got to say, I really

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have no idea what Your leanings might

be, no, or do I really want to know?

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But the question is really how

often is it that you get a visceral

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reaction to something and realize

that you better look at it from a more

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objective angle before you record,

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Erica: I think.

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Potentially daily, definitely weekly

where it's not visceral per se, but I

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think there's something that you know,

something's not sitting right here and

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I'll talk with my executive producer

about it and say, Do we feel like

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we're representing this perspective?

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I'm going to do a little more research.

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I'm going to look for if there is a

better argument out there for that

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perspective that I can find when

something just doesn't sit right.

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That's usually when I'll take a second.

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Look, I'll do some more

research and see if we can't.

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Thank you.

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Tweak it so that it feels that we're

just being a little bit more fair,

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or if I, or I feel like, wow, this

is really validating my feelings.

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So I'm going to take a second look and

let's even out how this is coming across.

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So it happens quite often

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Dave: looking at all the different

channels that are out there,

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putting the news together and

putting it up for an offering.

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Different things like slants on

stories or quoting people who

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agree with the point of view of a

journalist or even errors of omission.

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What are some of the common pitfalls,

Erika, that you see journalists

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falling into when they're trying

to be objective, and how do you

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Erica: overcome them?

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Yeah, I think I always like to first

differentiate between pundits on

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:

cable channels who very clearly have

a slant and an agenda, and they're

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really just giving out their opinions

versus these journalists who are really

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doing their best to be objective.

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And I do think for journalists, I

think one of the pitfalls could be

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that you could start saying what

everyone else is saying because a

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story becomes known as something.

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And so you refer to something a

certain way instead of really taking

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a step back and asking yourself if

there's anything missing or there's

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any additional context that you could

offer, any more transparency that you can

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offer instead of just going with what.

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All the different media are saying,

right, or what you're hearing often

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or how you talk about it with others.

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And so that even reminds me of going

back to the example I brought up earlier

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of don't say the don't say gay bill

that's often referred to in that way.

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It becomes this go to way to describe

the bill and that's how people.

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Know about it.

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And so I think it's easy to fall

into just referring to it that way,

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instead of saying, okay, maybe we need

to offer more context here to make

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sure the audience has the full story.

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Right.

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Kipper: So shifting

gears just a little bit.

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I think I know what your answer

would be because you've left and

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you're doing it now, but for somebody

who's still working for others, how

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would you suggest they deal with.

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Say a manager, boss, salesperson,

somebody who really wants them to use

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a certain skew or slant say like in a

local market where they don't want to

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talk about this car dealer, who's been

jacking prices because he's also the

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mayor, you know, that kind of stuff.

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First of all, have you ever had

something like that happen to you?

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And what recommendation might you offer

for those who still have to deal with it?

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Erica: Yeah, it's a good question.

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I have not had anyone explicitly

tell me they want to be biased or

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slanted or not cover something at

all because it's an advertiser.

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I have had a boss say, Okay,

well, that's an advertiser.

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So I need to know in advance if

we're going to run that story because

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I need to give them a heads up.

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So I feel like it's fair and I

think that there's been, it's been

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reasonable, but I think regardless,

any type of pressure, whether explicit

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or not, can be hard to deal with.

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And, and the thing that I would say

in general is to just think about

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it in any way that, or any time that

you're dealing with a manager or boss,

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you have to try to understand their

goal and also explain your why of.

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How you want to do it and try to come

up with something that you think, and

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maybe present your why in a way that's,

that also addresses what they're looking

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for, which is usually, at least in

my experience, is not so much about

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being biased or having an agenda as it

is about getting ratings and yeah, to

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your point, making advertisers happy.

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So if I were to think of an example of

how to deal with something, let's say

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there's a lead line in there that feels

really sensational and biased to me.

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Maybe I offer.

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Okay, let's leave the lead line in there

because it really draws in attention.

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But could we add more context after that?

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I really think it's important

to add a couple extra lines

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that provide this context.

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And oh, and maybe we can even

link to the document that we're

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referring to at our website.

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It'll draw more people to the website.

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We can pitch them to go to our website.

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And it'll offer some transparency

and help people understand where

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this information is coming from.

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Right?

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So you're trying to think of the ratings

piece, which just being real is what

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drives the news business, but also

trying to say from a news perspective,

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this, I think this context and this

transparency is really important as well.

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And usually, at least in my experience,

news directors have a news mind

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as well as the business mind.

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And so they're going to be open to.

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Wanting to do the best news possible,

I think, especially in local markets

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while also trying to keep in the ratings

and getting attention part of it.

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Dave: Our guest is Erica Mandy

with the Newsworthy Podcast.

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Someone you'd love to hear from.

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We'd love to hear from you.

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Email your suggestions to show.

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At BRANDwidth On Demand.

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com or reach out to us on social

brand with plus on Insta and Facebook.

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That's BRANDwidth P

L U S brand with plus.

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Kipper: Hey, if you're new to the

podcast, we'd love to say welcome

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and please be sure to hit the follow

button wherever you get in this.

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Dave: Coming up, Erica shares

her advice on being objective

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Spot: Musicmaster, less stress, more yes.

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on music scheduling, Keith Hill.

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One example is like the

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I use music master everywhere.

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Musicmaster.

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Music scheduling the way it should be.

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It was nice to talk to a fellow 80's kid.

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Yeah!

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Shout out to the staff and everybody there

and I love, uh, this Throwback Nation.

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Hear the power of real human connection

every night on Throwback Nation Radio.

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Get a free sample at throwbacknationradio.

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Branded On Demand.

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Dave: Our guest is Erica Mandy.

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She's the creator and

host of The Newsworthy.

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Erika, when it comes to

objectivity in news, what's the

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best advice you've ever gotten?

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Erica: I think it's that we will never

make everyone happy and that's okay, as

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long as you're doing your best to be

objective and really, always looking to

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improve, you know, you will likely get

some complaints and let's be open to them.

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And still be able to shake them

off to do better next time or

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to keep going with your mission.

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Dave: And what's the one piece

of advice you'd like to share to

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those who aspire to be you someday?

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Erica: I think that it's rare for

one thing in one News story in

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one show to make or break you.

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So remember that we aren't saving

lives here, but we are doing an

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important job of telling the news.

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So just do your best.

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Always look to improve and also

don't overstress because I think

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sometimes, we end up hating the news.

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If we're letting it get to us too much.

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So just do your best and keep going.

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Dave: Great advice.

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Our thanks to Erica Mandy, creator

and host of the Newsworthy podcast.

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We have links to Erica's podcast,

plus her special episode on

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objectivity in the media.

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All of it in the show notes,

just scroll down on your phone.

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Kipper: As always.

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We want to thank Cindy Huber, our

executive producer, who puts this

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all together, and Hannah B., our

associate producer, for booking.

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And, coming up on the

next BRANDwidth on Demand,

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Fred: it's me, Fred Jacobs, talking with

Kipper and Dave about, well, this, that,

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and everything else as it involves radio,

past, present, and of course, future.

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We'll be talking about innovation,

what's going on with AI.

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How the air personality role has

changed and anything else about radio

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that hopefully we think is relevant.

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So join me on the next episode

of BRANDwidth on Demand.

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Dave: That's a wrap Kipper.

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It's all about company, being

good company, a good companion.

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It's a really a secret to success in

the show notes at brandwithondemand.

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com.

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I'm Dave Martin.

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Kipper: And I'm Kipper McGee.

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May all your BRANDwidth be WIDE!

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