How Should the Press Cover Democracy?

The democracy beat is all the rage in news coverage. But the press needs to do more than follow current events. As the “fourth estate,” independent news works in a system of checks and balances. At its best, the press can hold government accountable to the people. And so, the way it covers democracy and dictatorships matters. That reporting informs the way we vote and how all of us, as people, understand the world.

To discuss how the press can better report on diverse communities and cooperate globally we have Erin Carroll and Rebecca Hamilton. Erin and Rebecca are both journalists turned law professors. Erin teaches classes on technology and the press, as well as legal research and writing at Georgetown Law. Rebecca teaches criminal law, national security, and international law at American University. She’s also a member of Just Security’s Editorial Board.

Show Notes: 

• Erin Carroll (@erinccarroll13) 
• Rebecca Hamilton (@bechamilton) 
• 4:45 Caitlin Dickerson’s Atlantic article, “An American Catastrophe” 
• 8:00 Rebecca’s Just Security articles on seeing ourselves from the outside and Facebook’s removing news in Australia
• 9:04 Erin’s Just Security article on democracy beats
• 12:20 Committee to Project Journalists report on media workers killed in 2022 
•  22:15 NYU’s American Journalism Online Program
• Music: “The Parade” by “Hey Pluto!” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/hey-pluto/the-parade (License code: 36B6ODD7Y6ODZ3BX)