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Journalism Tradecraft: What is Independent Journalism?

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Deborah Potter Date: Wednesday, 30 August 2006 Time: 9:00 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) View Webchat Transcript

The role of the news media in a free society is the focus of a USINFO webchat with veteran journalist Deborah Potter. The author of the new State Department publication, "Handbook of Independent Journalism," will be available to discuss the fundamentals of journalism as it is practiced in democratic systems — a journalism that attempts to base itself on fact and not opinion.

Guest Biography:

Deborah Potter is executive director of NewsLab (www.newslab.org), an online resource center for journalists in Washington, that she founded in 1998. She has taught journalism at The Poynter Institute and at American University, and is a past executive director of the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation. Potter leads workshops for journalists in newsrooms across the United States and around the world. She is a featured columnist writing about broadcast news for American Journalism Review and the author of Ready, Set, Lead: A Resource Guide for News Leaders. She is also the author of the State Deparment publication, "The Handbook of Independent Journalism," which covers the basics of how to research, write, and edit a story, compose headlines, choose graphics and select quotes and sound bites.

Potter spent more than 20 years in TV news, including 16 years as a network correspondent for CBS News and CNN, covering the White House, State Department, Congress, national politics, and environmental issues. She also hosted the PBS TV series "In the Prime." She has a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master's degree from American University.