We help journalists cover elections & their aftermath.
The Election SOS newsletter is a dedicated resource for journalists covering the elections. We provide critical resources to help with your coverage, safety and service.
Critical resources, now every other week!
A reminder that the Election SOS newsletter will continue to provide you with a compilation of top resources and advice on topics of extremism, misinformation, and accountability and offer a deep insight into lessons learned during this election cycle. Since there are fewer urgent needs at this time, we're switched the frequency of this newsletter to twice per month. Election SOS in the process of gathering your feedback and building out new valuable offerings, so stay tuned and keep reading for more.
Election SOS was founded on the principles of the Citizens Agenda, with the goal of letting the public set the conversation, rather than amplifying the mics of the politicians. Voter restrictions bills introduced will directly affect the communities you serve or could be serving. We encourage you to consider how you can use community engagement to shed light on the legislative proposals and promote accountability. Elections are always around the corner, and with the current avalanche of legislation, it's never too early to start talking to your audience.
Here are some resources to help you tackle the restrictive voting bills:
Champions of Curiosity Awards 2020: Best Overall Service, Offering, Or Outcome - The Citizens Agenda
The Champions of Curiosity Awards are Hearken’s annual celebration of community listening, community building, and needs-based service approaches that make the world a better place. This year the Citizens Agenda received the award for Best Overall Service. During the 2020 election, multiple Hearken partners incorporated this framework into their approach. Our partners like Capital Public Radio, Colorado Public Radio, KXLY, WBEZ, WNIJ, and others all adopted the Citizens Agenda to bring meaningful, relevant campaign coverage to their communities. Moving away from horse-race coverage, our partners prioritized community questions and insights to push policy and real-life implications to the forefront of political content. Thank you and congratulations!
The riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has further surfaced the urgent need for resources on extremist movements in the U.S. To help journalists navigate the complex world of extremism, Election SOS has added a resident expert. The expert will provide your newsroom with advice and resources to help you better understand and report on extremist groups, as well as free 1-1 support.
Join Engaged Journalism Exchange to reflect on lessons learned from efforts to use engaged journalism practices in connection to 2020 election coverage. Our own Bridget Thoreson will share her experience collaborating with researchers on the Citizens Agenda and talk more about Elections SOS. Joining her, Sue Robinson, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will reflect on how she adapted the Citizens Agenda framework for journalism schools, and created a project in collaboration with a local news organization and the Local Voices Network.
Center for Community Media is hosting a series of conversations on the complexities behind political polarization. The second installment of the series will focus on serving immigrant communities from India, the Philippines, and Mexico.
The discussion will discuss questions like: How are publishers addressing social media disinformation and even state propaganda from countries of origin? How are they ethically sourcing funding from within their communities? How are they educating their audiences in ways that build trust – and build community?
When Trump’s tweets started to drive the news agenda, and as the ratings appeared to respond positively to the president’s almost-daily stream of consciousness, the mutually reinforcing relationship took hold. First Draft conducted a study focusing on how cable news covered Trump's tweets in his last year of office. The research surfaced four main themes: 1. The networks reinforced Trump’s assertion that the election would be fraudulent. 2. TV coverage focused on claims of fraud with greater intensity after the election. 3. Tweets that had been flagged drew more attention. 4. Missing context on false tweets shown on screen.
Journalists who cover online misinformation can be exposed to real-life security risks. At this unpredictable moment, diligent security practices are essential. First Draft offers 10 privacy and security tips, along with links from the best online security organizations.
A persistent dilemma for journalists is how do we respond and adapt to the "fake news" phenomenon. The new research focused on whether journalists reported having either adopted new approaches or intensified existing ones as a way of “preventing” misinformation and thereby avoiding complaints of spreading fake news. The researchers found that "journalists were most likely to cross-check with sources more often, limit the use of anonymity, and make it as clear as possible where the information comes from.”
Election SOS moderated an insightful conversation with Dr. Manisha Sinha, a Draper Chair in American History at UConn, and Thorsten Wagner, the Executive Director of FASPE – Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics. If you missed it live, you can now watch it to learn how the Capitol riots compare and parallel to historical events and how journalists can cover followers of extreme movements moving forward.
Donald Trump’s claims that the election was stolen have forced local, state and federal agencies to spend millions enhancing security, fending off lawsuits and repairing property damage. The costs are mounting daily.
Around the country, election supervisors and the rank-and-file workers who helped carry out the nuts and bolts of American democracy still are reeling from the barrage of threats and the flood of falsehoods they had to navigate as they helped a record number of people cast ballots in a pandemic.
Thus useful explainer dives into the intricacies of how the vote-counting would actually work under the new ranked-choice-voting system in the Democratic primary of New York’s mayoral race. With the new system, voters will go to the polls and select not just their favorite candidate but their five favorite candidates, ranked in order of preference. There are concerns that some voters will be confused by a new kind of ballot, and not as many voters might actually have a fourth or fifth preference for mayor.
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