Media Integrity Project launches Humanity in Journalism podcast

The Media Integrity Project launched Humanity in Journalism on Sept. 15, a podcast focused on how journalism is made and how reporting affects the people in the story. The debut includes two episodes and sets up conversations with editors, ethics leaders and policy experts.

Why it matters: - The podcast aims to show listeners how journalism works, not just ask them to judge the final product. - The project argues that public trust depends on making reporting decisions, ethics and impact more visible. - The Media Integrity Project also pairs the podcast with ReporterLens™, a scoring tool designed to evaluate articles against journalism ethics and fundamentals.

What happened: - The Media Integrity Project launched Humanity in Journalism on Sept. 15. - Jessica Wiederhorn founded the project and hosts the podcast. - The launch includes two episodes. - The first episode covers the project’s origin. - The second episode features Danny Klein, editor of FSR and QSR magazines.

The details: - Humanity in Journalism focuses on the people and decisions behind news reporting. - The show includes journalists, editors, media leaders, experts and people who are the subject of news coverage. - Upcoming guests include Dan Axelrod, who chairs the Society of Professional Journalists’ Ethics Committee and co-chairs its Code revision subcommittee. - Upcoming guests also include Nick Anthony, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute. - The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. - Full transcripts are published with every episode on YouTube. - Busylike produces the podcast. - The Media Integrity Project runs without advertisers, institutional backers or political affiliation. - ReporterLens™ evaluates news articles against the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics and journalism fundamentals across 17 weighted metrics. - ReporterLens™ produces a transparent, reproducible score rather than an ideological judgment. - The Media Integrity Project says the podcast explores the human stories, ethical questions and real-world impact behind the news. - More information is available on the podcast website and the project website.

Between the lines: - The launch reflects a broader push to explain newsroom decisions at a time when audiences are being asked to judge media credibility more often. - The project is positioning ReporterLens™ as a quantitative tool and Humanity in Journalism as a narrative companion focused on craft and consequence. - The lack of advertisers and political affiliation is meant to reinforce the project’s independence.

What's next: - Humanity in Journalism will continue releasing episodes with guests from reporting, editing, ethics and policy. - The project will publish transcripts alongside future YouTube episodes. - The Media Integrity Project plans to keep expanding its transparency and accountability work through tools, research and dialogue.

The bottom line: - The Media Integrity Project is trying to make journalism more legible by showing both how reporting is scored and how it is actually made.