Research
Is More Better? Effects of Newsroom and Audience Diversity on Trait Coverage of Minority Candidates. Mingxiao Sui and Newly Paul
Troll and divide: the language of online polarization. Simchon, Brady, Van Bavel
Recommendations to Journalists Covering the Pre- and Post-inauguration Period. Election Coverage and Democracy Network
Psychological inoculation improves resilience against misinformation on social media. Science Advances
‘Horse race’ coverage of elections can harm voters, candidates and news outlets. Denise-Marie Ordway, The Journalist’s Resource
The psychological drivers of misinformation belief and its resistance to correction. Nature Reviews Psychology
Republicans are increasingly sharing misinformation, research finds. Maggie Macdonald and Megan A. Brown, NYU
Person-Centered Terms Encourage Stigmatized Groups’ Trust in News. Caroline Murray and Natalie Stroud, University of Texas-Austin
The Democracy Beat
The Rise of the Democracy Beat. Andrew Donohue
American media wants to save democracy. Is it helping? Matt Pearce
My final column: 2024 and the dangers ahead. Before signing off, Margaret Sullivan offers advice to her fellow journalists on how to cover a perilous election
Midterm Essentials. Poynter
Newsrooms must reframe abortion coverage and the worn-out debate around the rules of objectivity. Kelly McBride, Poynter
The Authoritarian Playbook: A Media Guide. Protect Democracy Project
Democracy Day Project. News organizations across the country have shared content that demonstrates democratic principles, current threats to democracy and dangers on the horizon. Anyone can republish the stories listed on the Democracy Day website.
How journalists can spot the signs of autocracy — and help ward it off. Margaret Sullivan
Election coverage basics
Free online course:Information and Elections in the Digital Era. The University of Texas at Austin
Extremism & Political Violence 101 webinar. More in Common
Free Workshop: Covering Political Extremism in the Public Square. Poynter
22 Lessons for the 2022 Midterms. ONA Conference Workshop, Sept. 22, 2022
Let’s end horse race political coverage. Rich Barlow, WBUR
Election Legal Guide. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Make your Voter Guide iconic. Jennifer Brandel, Hearken.
13 tips for covering likely election scenarios. American Press Institute
What journalists need to know about the laws on covering elections. Poynter
How can local news help inform voters? Here are a few good examples. Richard Tofel, Nieman Lab.
Meeting the community, interviewing, listening
How a small-town paper is applying conflict mediation skills to its opinion content. Julie Hart, Poynter
A Minnesota-based Instagram influencer is bringing Americans out of their echo chambers. How? Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic
How can journalists help communities overcome division? Kevin Loker, American Press Institute
Make your reporting less polarizing. Trusting News
“Why should I tell you? A guide to less-extractive reporting.” The Center for Journalism Ethics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Being honest about how journalists are different from their communities. Joy Mayer, TrustingNews,
Newsrooms must reframe abortion coverage. Kelly McBride, Poynter
Trump Supporters Explain Why They Believe the Big Lie. Sarah Longwell, The Atlantic
Book Review: How to Resolve a Conflict When You Hate Your Opponent’s Guts. Yascha Mounk, The New York Times
One Conversation at a Time. CBS News
Online course: How any journalist can earn trust. Poynter
Community Member Interview Guide. Trusting News
Facilitating difficult election conversations. James Madison University
Civic Media training. Listening Post Collective
Step-by-step guide: How journalists can talk to people who don’t trust news. Mollie Muchna, Trusting News
Braver Angels events, debates and alliances
Resetting the American Table training and programs
Good Conflict training and workshops
“Complicating the Narratives” and “High Conflict,” Amanda Ripley.
Writing about polls, surveys and research
Learn how to cover polls and research. Journalist’s Resource
How to survey your audience. WhereBy.Us and Letterhead co-founder Rebekah Monson
The Midterms Are Coming. Here’s How to Cover Polling. Celeste Katz Martin, Nieman Reports
Journalist safety
US Emergency Fund. International Women’s Media Foundation
MOOC on How to Report Safely. International Women’s Media Foundation
A Guide to Protecting Newsrooms and Journalists Against Online Violence. International Women’s Media Foundation
Resources for protecting against online abuse. Committee to Protect Journalists
Online Harassment Field Manual. Pen America
U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Freedom of the Press Foundation, Committee to Protect Journalists
Risk Assessment Template. Committee to Protect Journalists
Editor’s checklist for protecting journalists against online abuse. Committee to Protect Journalists
Creating a Culture of Safety for Freelance Journalists. ACOS Alliance
Scenario Planning Guide. Election SOS
Fact-checking
How ‘pink slime’ journalism exploits our faith in local news. Ryan Zickgraf, The Washington Post
Free Workshop: Disinformation, Midterms, and the Mind: How psychological science can help journalists combat election misinformation. National Press Club Journalism Institute, the American Psychological Association, and PEN America
Minimizing Misinformation: Conveying Legitimacy in Your Election Coverage. ONA, September 22, 2022
Twitter Analytics Tools (free): Networks, Trends, BotAmp. Indiana University Observatory on Social Media
Fact-checking may be important, but it won’t help Americans learn to disagree better. Taylor Dotson, Nieman Lab
Event: United Facts of America. Poynter
Do you have suggestions for helpful how-to’s and research for the report’s Resource page? Email them to elections@pressinstitute.org or let us know on Twitter. And you can still respond to our one-question survey about your needs.
Acknowledgements
We appreciate the journalists and other experts who contributed their time, ideas and experiences for this report. They include:
Christopher Baxter, Spotlight PA
Shannan Bowen, North Carolina Local News Workshop
Jennifer Brandel, Hearken
Sam Brewer, GBH
Bonnie Newman Davis, Richmond Free Press
Maria Salazar Ferro, The New York Times
Lee Hill, GBH News
Nadine Hoffman, International Women’s Media Foundation
Pam Johnston, GBH News
George Joseph, The City
Brianna Lee, KPCC and LAist
Sharon McMahon, educator
Jaisal Noor, Solutions Journalism Network
Rachel Piper, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Brittany Schock, Richland Source
Linda Shaw, Solutions Journalism Network
Melanie Sill, N.C. Local News Workshop
Lucy Westcott, Committee to Protect Journalists
Ariel Zirulnick, KPCC and LAist
Share with your network
You also might be interested in:
We'll share some of the resources, tools and lessons learned from our training sessions and research help desk. We hope you can use these as you plan your continuing accountability coverage and start thinking about the next election on the horizon.
When community members are no longer voters, their needs become diffuse once again and there is no clear, focusing mandate. So many newsrooms slip back into the usual: politics coverage driven by politicians and press releases. How do we avoid that backslide?
How can we avoid that backslide this time?
What news organizations continue to do in the days and weeks ahead will matter more than ever. They will bring people into community conversations or exclude them. They will create understanding or sow confusion.
