Covering Threats to Democracy
Top Story: MAGA and the Press
Truth: The warnings we gave our readers, listeners, and viewers about the dangers of a Trump presidency didn’t make it through.
and/or
and/or
That’s a tough truth to reckon with. But we must.
In the coming months Reporting Right will focus its efforts on helping you think about where the journalism community must go now to reach folks who need good information and aren’t getting it.
But first, we need to rethink how we cover a president and a party that is hellbent on destroying our democracy.
I urge you to do your homework.
Read everything you can about authoritarianism, political efforts around the world to consolidate power, and leaders now - and in the past - who seized power from representative governments.
Stay focused on early signs that people on your beat are consolidating power, thwarting the will of the people, silencing other representative bodies, and squashing dissent through legislation and/or fear and intimidation.
Warn your community through historical references and vigilant reporting on when and how folks you cover are seeking to dismantle governmental safeguards and power checks.
Always explain how these efforts will impact the rights of the folks you cover.
Be incremental. These shifts happen slowly. And then very fast. So, report the suggestions, the steps, the efforts, and the actual moves.
Look around. Republicans in states like North Carolina are already looking to consolidate more power than they already have. These trends tend to spread. Warn your readers about what is happening in other places.
Write about people opposing these efforts.
Resources for Covering Democracy Threats
How to report on threats to democracy
The rise of pro-democracy media
What the election says about democracy globally
In the News
Republicans seek to vet non-profits who they deem a national threat.
The secret gathering of powerful MAGA donors
Trump wants more control over journalists.
We’re Listening to
Autocracy Is in the Details, Radio Atlantic
Best Authors on Authoritarianism
Stephan Haggard and Robert Kaufman
Comic Relief
If You Like What You Are Reading:
Please share Reporting Right on your social media feeds.
Reach out for help at ReportingRight@googlegroups.com.
Tell your fellow reporters to subscribe.
See You Next Week!
Our Staff
Executive Editor Kyle Spencer
Managing Editor Christen Gall
Our Board of Advisors
Alex Aronson, executive director of Court Accountability
David Armiak, research director for the Center for Media and Democracy
Connor Gibson, founder of Grassrootbeer Investigations
Maurice Cunningham, retired associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and author of Dark Money and The Politics of School Privatization.
Isaac Kamola, associate professor of political science at Trinity College, founder of Faculty First Responders and co-author of Free Speech and Koch Money, Manufacturing a Campus Culture War
Nancy MacLean, William H. Chafe distinguished professor of history and public policy at Duke University and author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America
Ralph Wilson, founder of the Corporate Genome Project and co-author of Free Speech and Koch Money, Manufacturing a Campus Culture War
Copyright (C) 2024. All rights reserved.
SOS: Need reporting help? Contact:
ReportingRight@googlegroups.com
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can subscribe, update your preferences, or unsubscribe.