Jane Elizabeth
Jane Elizabeth, a media consultant, is the former managing editor of The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun in North Carolina. She has been an editor and manager in newsrooms including The Washington Post, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Virginian-Pilot; and is the American Press Institute’s former director of accountability journalism. Jane holds a master’s degree in mass communications from Virginia Commonwealth University, and was a 2017 Knight Visiting Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. She currently serves on advisory boards for Radford University and the Freedom Forum Institute’s Power Shift Project. Reach her at jane@janeelizabeth.net.
Train and retrain
Do you have the current skills, knowledge and training to be “fit for purpose” during this election season?
Election preparation resources
These resources are mentioned throughout American Press Institute’s new guide to covering democracy and elections.
Protecting your journalists
Do you know how to stay safe during protests, rallies and interviews?
Repairing community relationships
At a critical time in history, what can local journalists do to fix the longstanding lack of connections with communities?
How to be different — and better — this election
In this section of the American Press Institute’s guide to covering elections and democracy, we’ll look at some traditional ways of covering elections, and offer advice on more effective methods that could make a difference.
‘Not normal’: What local newsrooms can do now to prepare for a series of historic elections
How do local newsrooms 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?
Journalism managers are burned out. Is it time for a work redesign?
The lone editor at a small newsroom owned by a large corporation was overwhelmed, once again. A few big stories had consumed his entire staff of nine reporters — most of whom were newly hired and inexperienced. As he tried furiously to edit, coach and organize, he also was fielding phone calls, emails and Slack […]
Challenge No. 7: Taking journalists’ stress and mental health seriously
Journalism is an economically precarious profession particularly for local media organizations, and that fact alone is stressful enough. Add unpredictable work hours, lack of resources, and a lethal worldwide pandemic, and we’ve got a crisis on our hands. Or do we? If a thousand trees fall in the forest and no one acknowledges it — […]
Challenge No. 6: Boosting your diminished staff and content
In April, The Washington Post made an unusual request to local journalists across America: Contribute freelance articles to a special Washington Post Magazine issue designed to “show what the American public misses when thousands of stories are not told.” This fall, those stories will fill an entire issue showcasing local issues that have been underreported […]
Challenge No. 5: Producing the investigative work that people want to read
On February 13, the Charleston Post & Courier published an investigative project that examined what happens to South Carolina communities where no viable local media still exist. Not coincidentally, the next day the paper announced a fund drive to raise $100,000 in 100 days to help pay for their own investigative journalism, which, as Executive […]