The American Press Institute is helping news organizations to think about how their election coverage can build connections with their communities — and how to foster those relationships long after ballots are cast in November.
At our 2024 API Local News Summit on Elections, Trust and Democracy, we heard how news organizations are doing the work to create election resources that reflect the needs of the communities they cover. We also heard from non-news experts on what ongoing community engagement and listening might look like, taking inspiration from fields including civic engagement, civic education and bridge-building.
Together we imagined how local media’s work this year might lead to greater relationships after the results are final.
We visually captured core ideas from this API Local News Summit with the help of local Akron illustrator Luke Myers.
We asked four summit participants to expand on the work they’re doing in this space, so you can get inspiration, too:
- Design voting guides for social media to build a civically-engaged audience. The Austin Common, a news site and civic education organization, created Instagram-ready voter guides and explainers for down-ballot races. Editor-in-chief Amy Stansbury writes about the success they’ve found with that format and how it helps them reach new audiences year-round.
- How a voter guide highlighted Baltimore youth voices. Editor-in-chief Lisa Snowden shares how listening sessions and partnerships inspired the Baltimore Beat to create a youth voter guide and highlight voices that are not often heard in Baltimore’s local politics.
- How to use voting districts to kickstart community listening. Move beyond your go-to election sources by asset mapping and conducting precinct analyses to connect with people who can give depth to your election reporting and the neighborhoods you cover. AmyJo Brown of The Public Ledger and War Streets Media offers a step-by-step guide to identifying these people and organizations.
- Foster community belonging with your local election coverage. The feeling of “belonging” is a combination of role and fit. The Common Agency’s Deborah Tien details how news outlets can use this approach to engage people through reporting and events year-round.
Gratitude goes to the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism, our Resources and Insights Sponsor for our API Local News Summit on Elections, Trust and Democracy. Their support expands public-facing resources like these we can make from this gathering.
To learn more about supporting future API Local News Summits of news leaders, or if you’re curious about API’s work on Civic Discourse and Democracy more broadly, please contact us.
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4 ideas on election engagement that can lead to longer-term relationships
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Each week will offer a combination of frameworks to inspire new approaches to your election coverage and strategic suggestions you can put in place right away. Look for an idea that aligns with your organization’s mission or your community’s needs, and dig into resources to try it out.
Case studies, like the ones in our 2025 impact report, are an opportunity to highlight those findings and spotlight some of the organizations that have partnered with API to collaborate, innovate and advance solutions for their communities.
