With a dwindling number of days until the general election, it can be easy to get caught up in the day-by-day minutiae of campaign theatrics, mudslinging and insider politicking — even if that doesn’t help voters understand what candidates stand for, let alone how they plan to accomplish it.
Research shows that episodic, horse-race coverage is driving Americans to disengage with news, and creating gaps in civic understanding at all levels. How to fix it? Shift from the odds to the stakes. Led by Beatrice Forman and Jaisal Noor — two organizers with U.S. Democracy Day — this training will help journalists have working understanding of pro-democracy journalism and its impact, develop reporting plans for thematic election stories, and pull from a set of quick tips to immediately elevate their coverage beyond the horse race.
Beatrice Forman is the project coordinator for U.S Democracy Day, where she oversees programming and operations for a collaborative of 160+ newsrooms across the U.S. committed to producing high impact journalism that spurs civic engagement. She is also a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, covering breaking news and Philly’s unique internet culture. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Beatrice has reported on the creator economy for Vox and built engagement strategies for nonprofit newsrooms in Philadelphia.
Jaisal Noor is the Democracy Cohort Manager for the Solutions Journalism Network. He leads the Advancing Democracy Fellowship, helping newsrooms reinvent the way they cover politics, including deepening their election coverage beyond the horse race. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park. Over the past decade, Jaisal has reported for Democracy Now!, The Atlantic, Bolts Magazine, The Real News Network and Baltimore Beat.
The session will be hosted by chapter president Celia Wexler.
REGISTER HERE.