Free workshop on covering local elections to be held at Missouri School of Journalism Jan. 30 to Feb. 1

"Down Home Democracy," a free workshop Jan. 30 to Feb. 1 at the University of Missouri, is designed to encourage journalists from newspapers with circulation of 50,000 or less "to embrace elections as critically important news events and to give them the practical tools and strategies they need to cover campaigns thoroughly and constructively," says the sponsor, the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism.

Helping voters make informed decisions in elections is one of the most important jobs a journalist can do; elections for city and town councils, boards of aldermen, county commissions, school boards and local ballot issues probably have more influence on readers’ lives than state and federal elections, the Reynolds Institute says: "Yet, too often, newspapers lack the insight it takes to truly cover municipal elections well, or they fail to invest adequate resources toward reporting on local campaigns."

Registration is free, but required. For a schedule of sessions, click here. Speakers will include Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues (publisher of The Rural Blog) and political columnist and former political writer for The Courier-Journal in Louisville; Chad Day, investigative projects editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Mark Horvit, executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors; Jim Pumarlo of Community Newspaper Success Strategies in Red Wing, Minn., former editor of the Red Wing Republican Eagle and author of Votes and Quotes: A Guide to Outstanding Election Campaign Coverage.
For speaker biographies, go here.

The institute offers some arguments to use to justify your attendance:

It’s a workshop, not a conference. Participants will be equipped with practical strategies, tools, skills and tip sheets that will allow them to take their reporting on local elections to new levels.

Helping voters make informed decisions is one of the best ways journalists can contribute to local democracy. This workshop is targeted at community newspapers and websites, and it features a slate of expert speakers with extensive experience working for them.

Strong election coverage can be profitable. Newspapers and websites that establish themselves as go-to sources of election information put themselves in strong position to compete with other media for campaigns’ advertising dollars.

The workshop is free.