Cronkite News Advisory: News21 ‘Hate in America’ project

by Christina Leonard

Cronkite News would like to alert our clients to this year’s Carnegie-Knight News21 project, “Hate in America,” an investigation examining intolerance, racism and hate crimes. Thirty-eight journalism students from 19 universities spent the past several months investigating the topic for the program, which is based at the Cronkite School. (If you haven’t heard of News21, you’ll find additional information here.)

We released the project earlier this week and will highlight stories of interest to Cronkite News clients in our digest in the coming days. But clients are welcome to use all of the content. The only requirements are that you include News21 bylines and credit information. You can access the stories through the project website.

However, we’re also providing a Dropbox to share clean copies of the text, downloadable photos, embed codes for data visualizations and direct links to videos. You can access it through the link below. But first, a few important notes:

  • The Dropbox folder structure follows the same structure as the project content document you will find in “0-README.” Please start there. This document also includes links to our video assets. Instructions on how to embed data visualizations is in a separate document in the same folder. Please make note of all branding guidelines for instructions on how to cite our stories.
  • Final story versions and photo assets are organized within each folder (organized by slug, in the same order as the story budget). You will find cutline information within the metadata of images. (All you have to do is open the photos in Photoshop and go to File > File Info … > Description.)
  • We have produced a 43-minute documentary and a five part podcast, which you are free to use. Please also feel free to share our promotional trailers for the documentary and podcast before the project launches.

Here’s the Dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/eitp11foe9nfsqy/AABvAXdx3Bqg4uo2OvsgxCKNa?dl=0

You also are welcome to pick up any of the content we have published on our blog. You’ll find additional text stories and photos from across the country.

Here are the stories in the project:

Climate of Hate

Overview and extent of the current growing climate of hate in the United States and the inadequate response of law enforcement from an exclusive News21 analysis of national crime victimization data and on-the-ground reporting by 38 News21 reporters in 36 states. w/photos

 The State of Hate Road Trip

An interactive visual story map of a road trip in which News21 talked to more than 150 people over the course of 7,000 miles. w/photos, audio

Documentary: American Hate

An hour-long documentary that covers the legacy of hate in America and how it shaped the country as it is today. We follow characters and experts from across the U.S. including the families of James Byrd, Vernon Dahmer and Medgar Evers, organizers of rallies in Charlottesville and Portland, and a reformed Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan.

Podcast: Hate in America

A 5-episode podcast covering the life cycle of hate, from indoctrination to reform. We hear from characters and experts on both sides of the issue including law enforcement, Black Lives Matter and the National Socialist Movement.

STORIES

Religious Bias

Growing bias and hate crimes targeting Muslim Americans (and Asian-Americans mistaken for them) and resurgent bias and hate incidents targeting Jewish Americans – causing these communities to increase security at mosques and synagogues – with advocates’ assessments, and examples and characters in Oregon, New York, Virginia, Texas. w/photos, video

African-Americans

Continuing bias and hate crimes targeting African Americans in many regions of the country, in the context of a long history in the South. Revisiting the James Byrd case in Texas; investigating white supremacist activity in Michigan, Georgia and Oregon, with examples and characters. w/photos, data visualization

Latinos

Latinos and other immigrants are increasingly victimized by bias-motivated harassment and hate crimes, especially since the election of Donald Trump and the threat of deportation of undocumented immigrants. With significant data from Los Angeles County, reporting there and in Oregon, Texas and Florida, with examples and characters. w/photos, video

LGBTQ Bias

Despite growing mainstream cultural acceptance, members of the LGBTQ community are increasingly victims of hate crimes, harassment and discrimination while still wary of the police. Reporting from New York, Houston, New Orleans and Jacksonville, Florida. w/photos, video

Indigenous Women

Investigating an epidemic of sexual assaults, murders and disappearances of Native American women who have been victims of non-indigenous men, many of whom live in oil and mining “man camps” on or near Native American reservations, in several states, without consequences for perpetrators. News21 data and reporting, with examples and characters, in reservations and border towns in Montana and North Dakota, plus experts’ assessments and advocates’ voices of alarm. w/photos, video, data visualization

Campus Hate

Documenting a significant increase in hate speech, incidents and crimes on American college campuses – and a resulting increase in university bias response teams, with issues of free speech, due process and academic freedom. Data from the federal government and News21 reporting from Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and other states, with examples and characters. w/photos, data visualizations

Indoctrination

Investigating the new face of hate: Young white supremacists in recently formed national groups indoctrinating students and young adults on campuses and in communities, triggering clashes with young “Antifa” groups. Exclusive interviews and scenes with Identity Evropa in Philadelphia and Proud Boys in Portland. w/photos

Digital Hate

Investigating how social media and the “dark web” increasingly spread and incite hate – with a News21 examination of digital hate and its leading purveyors, exclusive interviews and representative characters. w/photos, data visualization

Hate Groups

Portrait of virulent white supremacist hate groups through interviews with members and defectors. w/photos, video

Hate Crime Laws

Exploring the frustrating diversity of state hate crime laws, the five states with no law, the exclusion of crimes against LGBTQ people in other states, and recent inclusion of crimes against law enforcement officers, the effectiveness of the laws and their relationship with federal hate crime law. Reporting from Indiana, Arkansas, Utah, Georgia and Mississippi. w/photos, video and interactive 50-state guide to hate crime laws

Law Enforcement

Investigating the inconsistency of law enforcement response to hate crimes, with examples. w/photos, videos