Civic Discourse & Democracy

For something as consequential as elections, how do you inform where you put your energy? That’s a good question for any journalist or media leader to consider practically — and it’s also likely on community members’ minds.

Mission statements help you when you need to make a quick decision about what to cover with the time you have. But mission statements also help you plan ahead.

Take stock of your 2023 local election coverage — what worked well and what didn’t — to support your planning for 2024. We aim to help you take notes now to strengthen your engagement and audience work ahead of next November.

The projects will start immediately and run for four months, during which the news organizations will convene events, try new coverage approaches or embark on other projects aimed at encouraging local residents to engage in valuable conversations about the most pressing issues they face. 

Last year, API distributed small grants before the midterm elections to help fuel listening experiments led by 31 news organizations across the country, legacy and startup newsrooms across digital, print and broadcast platforms. What did they learn from these sessions, and how might those lessons be integrated into their elections coverage in the future?

Both nonprofit and for-profit news organizations may apply by August 21 by 8 p.m. ET for grants of up to $10,000 to be used over four months starting in September.

Opinion editors today are actively engaged in demonstrating to their publishers that their content contributes to the bottom line. While they say their primary mission is to inform the community, engage in meaningful discourse and influence outcomes, they also see reader data, and reader revenue, as an important part of their work.

As part of API's work, we are “passing the mic” to people in opinion sections and out to share what they are doing on this topic.

Editor’s Note: The American Press Institute is helping news organizations reimagine local opinion journalism to promote healthier civic discourse and to better understand its role [...]

Across the country, thoughtful editors are seeking more op-eds and contributions that get away from publishing pure “opinion,” which some might read as assertions based on data or perhaps bonafides.