I am part of a group of 65+ political scientists and media scholars who today gave birth today to a new organization that responds to the civic emergency we are living through: The Election Coverage and Democracy Network.
These are our recommendations. 1/ mediafordemocracy.org
These are our recommendations. 1/ mediafordemocracy.org
This group came together very quickly. We held one Zoom call, found we were on the same page, and set to work. The goal was to take what we learned as scholars and researchers and give non-partisan guidance on best practice to the people who are reporting on this election.
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I am proud of what we produced. The first recommendation is: "Deny a platform to anyone making unfounded claims."
Or this one: "When voters and election administrators are the protagonists of election coverage, the public wins." More here: mediafordemocracy.org 3/
Or this one: "When voters and election administrators are the protagonists of election coverage, the public wins." More here: mediafordemocracy.org 3/
This isn't media bashing. Our statement says, "We hope these recommendations—based on decades of research into electoral processes, news coverage, and public opinion—support the important work journalists are doing to cover the election and safeguard democracy."
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Why did we come together to speak as one voice? Because "the news media are the primary way the public learns about politics," and "journalists have the power to profoundly shape public trust (or distrust) in the election process." And we have knowledge relevant to the task. 5/
American democracy is at a dangerous moment. One of its strengths is people know how to self-organize without waiting for the nod from above. Our group of scholars had great leaders and zero arguments. The needle on the pettiness meter never moved. This was itself inspiring. 6/
What can you do? Well, read and share our statement. Alert your local media to it. We have people from 40+ universities around the US— and in other countries. There's probably a member near you. Maybe your newsroom needs a political scientist on call. mediafordemocracy.org 7/
People are telling me, "you're a little late." Yeah, you're right. We should have been out with this 3-4 weeks ago. Simple fact is, no one thought of it. We were doing our own things. 8/
Here's one of mine: thecitizensagenda.org
Here's one of mine: thecitizensagenda.org
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