Research

Is More Better? Effects of Newsroom and Audience Diversity on Trait Coverage of Minority Candidates. Mingxiao Sui and Newly Paul

Troll and divide: the language of online polarization. Simchon, Brady, Van Bavel 

Recommendations to Journalists Covering the Pre- and Post-inauguration Period. Election Coverage and Democracy Network 

Psychological inoculation improves resilience against misinformation on social media. Science Advances

‘Horse race’ coverage of elections can harm voters, candidates and news outlets. Denise-Marie Ordway, The Journalist’s Resource 

The psychological drivers of misinformation belief and its resistance to correction. Nature Reviews Psychology

Republicans are increasingly sharing misinformation, research finds. Maggie Macdonald and Megan A. Brown, NYU 

Person-Centered Terms Encourage Stigmatized Groups’ Trust in News. Caroline Murray and Natalie Stroud, University of Texas-Austin

The Democracy Beat

The Rise of the Democracy Beat. Andrew Donohue 

American media wants to save democracy. Is it helping? Matt Pearce 

My final column: 2024 and the dangers ahead. Before signing off, Margaret Sullivan offers advice to her fellow journalists on how to cover a perilous election

Midterm Essentials. Poynter 

Newsrooms must reframe abortion coverage and the worn-out debate around the rules of objectivity. Kelly McBride, Poynter 

The Authoritarian Playbook: A Media Guide. Protect Democracy Project 

Democracy Day Project. News organizations across the country have shared content that demonstrates democratic principles, current threats to democracy and dangers on the horizon. Anyone can republish the stories listed on the Democracy Day website.

How journalists can spot the signs of autocracy — and help ward it off. Margaret Sullivan

Democracy SOS resource list. 

Election coverage basics

Free online course:Information and Elections in the Digital Era. The University of Texas at Austin 

Extremism & Political Violence 101 webinar. More in Common

Free Workshop: Covering Political Extremism in the Public Square. Poynter

22 Lessons for the 2022 Midterms. ONA Conference Workshop, Sept. 22, 2022 

Let’s end horse race political coverage. Rich Barlow, WBUR

Election SOS newsletter

Election Legal Guide. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Make your Voter Guide iconic. Jennifer Brandel, Hearken. 

13 tips for covering likely election scenarios. American Press Institute

What journalists need to know about the laws on covering elections. Poynter 

How can local news help inform voters? Here are a few good examples. Richard Tofel, Nieman Lab.

Meeting the community, interviewing, listening

How a small-town paper is applying conflict mediation skills to its opinion content. Julie Hart, Poynter

A Minnesota-based Instagram influencer is bringing Americans out of their echo chambers. How? Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic

How can journalists help communities overcome division? Kevin Loker, American Press Institute

Election SOS handbook

Make your reporting less polarizing. Trusting News

“Why should I tell you? A guide to less-extractive reporting.” The Center for Journalism Ethics, University of Wisconsin-Madison 

Being honest about how journalists are different from their communities. Joy Mayer, TrustingNews, 

Newsrooms must reframe abortion coverage. Kelly McBride, Poynter

Trump Supporters Explain Why They Believe the Big Lie. Sarah Longwell, The Atlantic

Book Review: How to Resolve a Conflict When You Hate Your Opponent’s Guts. Yascha Mounk, The New York Times 

One Conversation at a Time. CBS News

Online course: How any journalist can earn trust. Poynter

Community Member Interview Guide. Trusting News

Facilitating difficult election conversations. James Madison University 

Civic Media training. Listening Post Collective

Step-by-step guide: How journalists can talk to people who don’t trust news. Mollie Muchna, Trusting News

Braver Angels events, debates and alliances

Resetting the American Table training and programs

Good Conflict training and workshops

“Complicating the Narratives” and “High Conflict,” Amanda Ripley. 

Writing about polls, surveys and research

Learn how to cover polls and research. Journalist’s Resource

How to survey your audience. WhereBy.Us and Letterhead co-founder Rebekah Monson 

The Midterms Are Coming. Here’s How to Cover Polling. Celeste Katz Martin, Nieman Reports

Journalist safety

US Emergency Fund. International Women’s Media Foundation

MOOC on How to Report Safely. International Women’s Media Foundation

A Guide to Protecting Newsrooms and Journalists Against Online Violence. International Women’s Media Foundation

Resources for protecting against online abuse. Committee to Protect Journalists 

Online Harassment Field Manual. Pen America 

U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Freedom of the Press Foundation, Committee to Protect Journalists

Risk Assessment Template. Committee to Protect Journalists

Editor’s checklist for protecting journalists against online abuse. Committee to Protect Journalists 

Creating a Culture of Safety for Freelance Journalists. ACOS Alliance

Scenario Planning Guide. Election SOS 

Fact-checking

How ‘pink slime’ journalism exploits our faith in local news. Ryan Zickgraf, The Washington Post

Free Workshop: Disinformation, Midterms, and the Mind: How psychological science can help journalists combat election misinformation. National Press Club Journalism Institute, the American Psychological Association, and PEN America

Minimizing Misinformation: Conveying Legitimacy in Your Election Coverage. ONA, September 22, 2022

Twitter Analytics Tools (free): Networks, Trends, BotAmp. Indiana University Observatory on Social Media

Fact-checking may be important, but it won’t help Americans learn to disagree better. Taylor Dotson, Nieman Lab 

Event: United Facts of America. Poynter

Do you have suggestions for helpful how-to’s and research for the report’s Resource page? Email them to elections@pressinstitute.org or let us know on TwitterAnd you can still respond to our one-question survey about your needs. 

Acknowledgements

We appreciate the journalists and other experts who contributed their time, ideas and experiences for this report. They include: 

Christopher Baxter, Spotlight PA

Shannan Bowen, North Carolina Local News Workshop

Jennifer Brandel, Hearken

Sam Brewer, GBH

Bonnie Newman Davis, Richmond Free Press

Maria Salazar Ferro, The New York Times

Lee Hill, GBH News

Nadine Hoffman, International Women’s Media Foundation

Pam Johnston, GBH News

George Joseph, The City

Brianna Lee, KPCC and LAist

Sharon McMahon, educator

Jaisal Noor, Solutions Journalism Network

Rachel Piper, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Brittany Schock, Richland Source

Linda Shaw, Solutions Journalism Network

Melanie Sill, N.C. Local News Workshop

Lucy Westcott, Committee to Protect Journalists

Ariel Zirulnick, KPCC and LAist

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