Democratic Reporting in Times of Elections

How Political Journalism Can Help Safeguard Democracy
2024 is a super-election year and a lot is at stake for democracy in the United States, Europe, and Germany. The radicalization of right-wing parties and their anti-liberal agenda pose new challenges for political reporting in our democracies. At the same time, media outlets themselves are now targets of anti-democratic parties and groups. How can journalism fulfill its democratic function in this demanding environment? What common practices of election-related reporting should be scrutinized and questioned? How can journalists cover groups and leaders who oppose democracy without trivializing, normalizing, or providing them with a platform? Which groups of society are overlooked in the reporting and what is at stake for them?
Since 2016, media professionals in the United States have addressed these questions intensively to provide important answers and new proposals. The Heinrich Böll Foundation, Washington D.C. and the German media non-profit Neue deutsche Medienmacher*innen e.V. discussed these and other questions together with experts from the USA and Germany.
Panelists:
- Jay Rosen, professor of journalism at New York University
- Errin Haines, editor-in-chief of the independent newsrooms 19th*News
- Hadija Haruna-Oelker, journalist and author
Moderated by: Aline Abboud, journalist and news anchor