Supporters gather to rally with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump

Election '16: Lessons for Journalism

As journalists continue to critique their coverage of the presidential election, Nieman Reports is publishing an ongoing series of articles exploring the issues, challenges and opportunities—from newsroom diversity to fake news to community news outlets—that will inform reporting going forward. The full list of articles is below.

Lifestyles Lost

By Murray Carpenter• Election '16: Lessons for Journalism• November 13, 2016

If you’re looking for something to explain President-elect Donald Trump’s unlikely victory, the signs were everywhere this fall in Millinocket, a northern Maine mill town now without a mill. Trump/Pence signs, that is, often paired with “No on 3” signs, … Read more

Closing Gaps in the Name of Democracy

By Evan Osnos• Election '16: Lessons for Journalism• November 13, 2016

Everyone has a story along the lines of mine. At a family gathering in October, I was chatting with a cousin about the campaign, and, since we didn’t see it quite the same way, each of us was speaking delicately. Read more

Let the Interlopers In

By Diana Marcum• Diversity• November 12, 2016

I remember the day the Los Angeles Times decided to hire me. I’d been freelancing for the paper out of California’s Central Valley. Ashley Dunn, then the metro editor, came up to Fresno because no one had met me in … Read more

A Tale of Two Filter Bubbles

By Kari Howard• Election '16: Lessons for Journalism• November 12, 2016

As I sat down to write this, I heard a gunshot. Two seconds later, another shot. Two more seconds, another. Then silence. Six months ago, in Los Angeles, the sound of gunshots would have meant two things: a crime, or … Read more

Lessons from Brexit

By Helen Lewis• Election '16: Lessons for Journalism• November 11, 2016

The failure of journalism and of polling to accurately reflect the electorate is not unique to this U.S. presidential election, or even to America. During the June referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union, Faisal Islam, political editor of … Read more

Looking for “Whitelash”

By Wendi C. Thomas• Diversity• November 11, 2016

The signs that someone like Donald Trump was coming were right there, in online comments lousy with creatively spelled racial slurs that slipped past even the best filters. They were in the vicious tweets and voicemail nastygrams aimed at journalists … Read more

To Win Back Public Trust, Try Bipartisan Reporting and “Bias Editors”

By Raquel Rutledge• Election '16: Lessons for Journalism• November 11, 2016

It’s not news that a substantial segment of the American population despises the news media. We’ve heard allegations of elitism and bias since our industry’s infancy, though recently donned t-shirts advocating our lynching are among the most disturbing displays of … Read more

Responding to Our Oral Culture

By Danielle Allen• Election '16: Lessons for Journalism• November 11, 2016

Sometime late last winter, I began to focus closely on what would happen in the primaries on Super Tuesday, March 1, 2016. I realized I really needed to get on top of Donald Trump’s policy proposals. My first step was … Read more

How Collaborative Media Partnerships Can Help Rebuild Local and Regional Journalism

By Jeff Young• Election '16: Lessons for Journalism• November 10, 2016

The chasm between the coastal media centers and the country’s heartland is laid bare. Deep discontent, long simmering in the manufacturing Midwest and Appalachian coal country, went largely unrecognized until this year’s populist primal scream. Even then, national coverage often … Read more