Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Bringing Accuracy and Context
to Animal Journalism

About

Welcome to the Daily Pitchfork, a site dedicated to advancing the coverage of animal issues in the media.

Our mission is to bring accuracy and context to the way media presents and analyzes animal issues. We will do this by showcasing the best animal journalism, constructively critiquing the rest, and providing the media with valuable resources to foster the most effective coverage.

Our focus on accuracy and context are key: Animal issues are more complex today than ever before. The human-animal relationship is not only central to our economic lives, but it bears directly on the environment, food and public safety, policy-making and even basic constitutional rights. Yet the key cornerstones of journalism —“give voice to the voiceless” and “hold accountable those in power”—are too often downplayed or overlooked by those reporting on the human-animal interaction, leaving both animals and the larger public underrepresented, uninformed and frequently misinformed.

Accurate animal journalism is journalism that follows clear and proper guidelines, relies on credible sources, presents accurate facts in the most appropriate language, embraces real science and data, and includes a range of perspectives, including those of animals themselves. These qualities are fundamental to the media’s mission and, as such, they are central to ours.

Also on The Daily Pitchfork: