Define democracy as part of election coverage; increased sample-copy power lets newspapers reach all in a county

Four weeks from today, Americans will finish voting in some of the more fraught elections of our time, the first national midterm election since the presidential in 2020, which millions of Americans falsely believe wasn't fairly conducted. (Here's proof of why that belief is false.)

The American Press Institute asks, "How are newsrooms supposed to cover elections at a time when democratic principles are under attack, basic voting procedures are questioned and many people fear the future of personal rights — especially when we can’t even agree on what the term democracy means?" API has guidance on that, drawn partly from news organizations. The first one is from the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, publisher of The Rural Blog.

​​✅ Newspapers should consider using their newly increased power to send selected editions to non-subscribers at subscriber rates, in an effort to inform every household in their home county about the candidates and the issues — and be a more attractive advertising vehicle for campaigns.

✅ Brush up on the basics. Can you adequately define democracy for all readers? Can you explain what happens in a non-democratic society? Check out former high school government teacher Sharon McMahon’s Instagram for a refresher. And don’t forget to be clear with readers about your intentions; here’s how the Texas Tribune defined its election coverage.

✅ Share basic voting information in multiple formats, such as running your election guide as a Facebook ad or creating videos intended to be shared on social media. And consider translating voter guides to other languages, like VTDigger did here.

✅ Consider the diversity of the pool of experts you’ll be reaching out to throughout the election season, and update your roster. The Trusted Elections Expert Network database is a place to start.

✅ Get to know local polling officials and share polling information — and check often for changes.

Other examples: Carolina Public Press built a quiz for readers to test their knowledge of democracy and voting in North Carolina; The Washington Post offers readers the ability to create a personalized election guide using its Democracy Toolkit; The New York Times outlines top challenges to democracy; and The Nevada Independent defines what “independent” means in its Election 2022 Coverage Mission Statement.

API invites you to attend a free webinar Oct. 20: “Finishing Touches: Fine tune your midterm election coverage plans with The Associated Press and the American Press Institute.” API Executive Director Michael D. Bolden, Hearken’s Jennifer Brandel and the Lenfest Institute’s Amy Kovac-Ashley share 24 lessons for the 2022 elections — also on a Twitter thread. Here is API's series on how local newsrooms can can prepare for a series of historic elections and how back-to-basics reporting became essential in 2020 election coverage.

News media, especially local media, have an important role to play, writes Rachel Kleinfeld in a new report on U.S. democracy from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: “Trusted local media appears to serve as a bulwark against rabbit holes, democracy-eroding corruption, and polarization. Local media is also correlated with a host of prodemocratic habits from voting and split-ticket voting to civic participation. Local media appears to amplify the effects of counter-measures that help fight disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation.”