Helping Journalists Cover American Muslims Fairly

Thank you for caring about facts and journalistic integrity. Because of you, ISPU can continue to provide media professionals with the tools they need to accurately, confidently and fairly cover Muslims in America and the issues that impact upon them. And it couldn’t have come at a better time. A recent wave of layoffs at Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, and Gannett is just the latest in a trend of job losses that mean journalists are being asked to cover more and more… with less resources. We think it’s crucial that shrinking newsroom budgets don’t lead to less or more biased coverage of American Muslims, because studies show that inaccurate media has already negatively influenced the attitudes of everyday Americans toward their Muslim neighbors.

The need for better, more accurate training is great, which is why we’re excited that the day-long workshop for journalists that you have empowered us to implement this March in Chicago is nearly upon us! Participants will receive everything they need to cover American Muslims creatively and confidently, including new angles for when breaking news strikes about violence, definitions for terminology that is often misused, our extensive journalists toolkit, and direct connections with scholars for future stories. They’ll also attend expert-led modules, such as “Shariah: Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask” and “An Evidence-Based Look at Covering National Security and Ideologically Motivated Violence.”

In the meantime, as we plan the training, we continue to serve as an important resource for journalists across the country. Recently, we connected with a journalist who turned to us as an expert source while writing a piece about the first Muslim women in Congress for a major national magazine. She found our help so valuable, that she decided to do a profile of ISPU for a journalism trade magazine, so that even more journalists can find and use our vast archive of research and resources.

None of this would have been possible without your visionary and generous support, , so thank you!