With midterm elections just over three weeks away, questions about the role of the press in protecting democracy and holding power accountable took center stage at the Fourth Annual Center for Journalism and Democracy Summit on Oct. 6.
A day filled with introspection, connection and collective learning, the event gathered newsroom executives, American and international journalists, legal scholars, and democracy practitioners to reflect, learn from one another, formulate meaningful approaches, and prepare to address threats facing the press.
“I do not have to tell you that, without hyperbole, this will be among, if not the most consequential election of our lifetime because we do not know if our democracy will hold, as the nation faces unprecedented threats from the executive office,” said Nikole Hannah-Jones, investigative journalist and founder of the Center for Journalism and Democracy.
For students like Anna Hill, learning how to ensure reporting is factual and insightful, not only as she prepares for a career in public relations, but before she and approximately 50 million Generation Z Americans place their ballots.
“Just educating us, trying to keep information as accurate as possible [is important],” said Hill, “but then also informing us on how different positions that are up for election impact our communities.”
Throughout the event, Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, urged the current and future reporters present to champion freedom and transparency.
“We are the fourth estate,” Hannah Jones, creator of the 1619 Project, said. “We are the firewall of democracy, and we have tremendous power to protect it.”
The Midterms: Stakes and Strategy
Setting the tone for the event, Howard University interim President Wayne A.I. Frederick asked attendees to address the challenges facing journalists with “clear thinking and practical readiness.”
During the panel, “Are You Ready? Preparing Your Newsroom for High-Stakes Elections,” Carolyn Ryan, managing editor of The New York Times, said it takes proactivity to ensure voters understand the importance of midterms and exercise their civic duty by voting.
“We can’t really ask ourselves, ‘Are we ready?’ We have to get ready, and the way that we do it is serious investment of time,” said Ryan.
The managing editor shared examples of how the 175-year-old publication is gearing up for the elections.
On Sept. 23, the news organization simulated election night with its usual 70-person team responsible for operations such as scraping election data and map-building.
She said the publication ultimately helps readers by explaining how votes are cast, counted and verified.
“What we think of it is, it’s almost like a civics lesson to walk readers through what’s happening and to explain the process of [voting],” she said, “and why the integrity of that process is so important.”
The Challenges Facing Election Coverage
While newsrooms prepare to inform voters, journalists also face safety risks.
Georgia Fort, a three-time Midwest Emmy Award-winning journalist who was arrested in January and currently faces two federal court counts for her reporting in Minnesota, is one example of the personal toll that reporting can take on journalists. Fort, who claims she was arrested for covering stories within her community, recalled the early-year encounter with federal agents that was traumatizing to her whole family.
The reporter said since those officers infiltrated her home, she has had to console her 8-year-old daughter over fears they might return.
“It feels in some ways impossible, exhausting, and no matter how much you make, you can’t buy back your child’s sense of security, their sense of safety in their own home,” Fort said.
The experience has also prompted Fort to limit what she says publicly and exercise greater caution.
“As a journalist, the amount of self-censoring that I do on a daily basis, I think is a cost that mainstream media hasn’t quite counted yet,” she said, “because you don’t know what it feels like until it happens to you— when you have to live in this reality that anything you say can be used against you.” In addition to safety concerns, speakers and attendees highlighted how the political climate creates opportunities for misinformation and disinformation.
“As much as there’s a technical aspect for getting ready for an election, there is also a narrative aspect and some bad faith actors who you might recognize try to create a narrative,” Ryan explained.
To counteract this possibility, the New York Times will establish relationships with elected officials across battleground states, including county and city clerks in smaller communities.
For Hill, reliable election coverage could mean the difference between a vote secured and a vote lost.
“[Potential consequences include individuals] not voting for the right candidate, but more so not voting at all,” she told The Informer. “I think some people may be discouraged if they don’t have accurate updates on who may be in the lead or who’s winning.”
Bringing a Black Press Lens to Mainstream Media
For generations, the Black Press — which celebrates 200 years in March 2027 — has been viewed by many as a vital tool in bringing about social change and preserving democratic freedoms.
Hannah-Jones said the Black Press is critical because of its distinct reporting toward what might be considered “pro-democracy” and “pro-humanity” biases.
“The Black Press never had the ability to pretend that journalism is not a form of activism. And we’ve never had people even think that we can be neutral,” she told The Informer. “And so, we’ve always understood that we have to defend democracy, that that is our role.”
Although she works outside the Black Press as a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine, Hannah-Jones said she works within its tradition, believing its values should guide journalists’ midterm election reporting and journalism more broadly.
“What I’m trying to do is turn the mainstream journalistic lens to the tradition of the Black Press,” the Howard University professor told The Informer, “because that is what will safeguard us.”
