The Weirdest Election “Night” Ever: What the public needs to know about the media, the 2020 elections and a working democracy
The Weirdest Election “Night” Ever: What the public needs to know about the media, the 2020 elections and a working democracy
Join this online public forum for leading journalists and the citizens they serve to demystify the elections process and combat misinformation.
Misunderstanding, misreporting and even mischief after the polls close this November pose a real risk for the proper functioning of a democracy. As part of its continuing work to strengthen journalism, the nonprofit Poynter Institute is hosting a public forum on Monday, Oct. 19 to explore issues around the 2020 election so that citizens and journalists can understand each others’ roles in the voting process.
This nonpartisan conversation between journalists and the public is a continuation of workshops Poynter hosted with 17 leading journalists to discuss best practices and solutions for coverage challenges around the 2020 election.
Learning outcomes
- Feel prepared to follow an election unlike any other
- Spot election misinformation on your own newsfeed
- Sharpen your critical thinking about politicians’ claims
How to watch
This two-hour forum will consist of two lively panels with breaks for video explainers. As a registered attendee, you will be provided with a link to the livestream.
Schedule
Join us live on Monday, Oct. 19 from 7-9 p.m. As a registered attendee, you will be provided with a link to the livestream.
Panel 1: Demystifying the elections process
Leading journalists will discuss how votes are counted, how journalists project winners, how coverage priorities are balanced and how to meet expectations of voters.
Moderator
Eric Deggans, is NPR’s TV Critic and a media analyst/contributor for MSNBC and NBC News. Deggans came to NPR in 2013 from the Tampa Bay Times, where he served as TV/Media Critic and in other roles for nearly 20 years.
Panelists
Sally Buzbee is the Senior Vice President and Executive Editor of The Associated Press. She oversees global news operations and news content in text, photos and video from journalists based in 250 locations worldwide.
Caitlin Conant is political director of CBS News where she helps guide the network’s political and campaign coverage.
Joe Lenski is co-founder and Executive Vice President of Edison Research. Under his supervision, Edison Research currently conducts all exit polls for the major news organizations comprising the National Election Pool (NEP) – ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC.
Geoffrey Skelley is an elections analyst at FiveThirtyEight, a leading data journalism news outlet that is part of ABC News. He examines polling and election data for presidential, congressional and gubernatorial contests.
Intermission
Amna Nawaz, PBS NewsHour senior national correspondent and MediaWise Ambassador, on fact-checking claims before sharing them online.
Panel 2: Combating misinformation and false claims
Fact-checkers and media literacy advocates will assess the information landscape and make recommendations to the public about how they can be well-informed and spot misinformation for themselves.
Moderator
Angie Drobnic Holan is the editor-in-chief of PolitiFact and helped launch the site in 2007. She was a member of the PolitiFact team that won the Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the 2008 election.
Panelists
Daniel Funke is a staff writer covering online misinformation for PolitiFact. He previously reported for Poynter as a fact-checking reporter and a Google News Lab Fellow, and has worked for the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Paul Anderson is a former journalist who covered government and politics in Florida and Washington, D.C. In the second half of his career, he has done communications for a member of the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Government Accountability Office and now for AARP. He helped create the AARP Fact Tracker.
Kate Starbird is an associate professor of Human Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington. Her research examines how people use social media to seek, share, and make sense of information, especially after high-impact news events. She also studies how online social platforms empower people to work together to solve problems, as well as concerns related to abuse and manipulation on the platforms and the erosion of trust in information.
Heaven Taylor-Wynn is a Multimedia Reporter for Poynter’s MediaWise Project. Heaven joined MediaWise in 2019 shortly after graduating from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications. The MediaWise project teaches teenagers media literacy skills that help them tell the difference between reliable and unreliable information on social media and throughout the internet.
Requirements
This event will be livestreamed and only accessible online. This is a free event, thanks to the generous support of Facebook. Please consider supporting the Poynter Institute by making a donation during the registration process.
Questions?
We’d love to hear from you. Email us at info@newsu.org.
Faculty
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Neil BrownPresidentNeil Brown is the president of The Poynter Institute. He joined Poynter in September 2017, after serving as the editor and vice president of the...Read More
Panel 1: Demystifying the elections process
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Eric DeggansTV Critic, NPREric Deggans is NPR’s first full-time TV critic, also serving as media analyst and guest host, appearing on all the network’s shows, including “Morning Edition,”...Read More
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Panel 2: Combating misinformation and false claims
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Angie Drobnic HolanDirector, International Fact-Checking NetworkAngie Drobnic Holan is the director of the International Fact-Checking Network, which supports and promotes fact-checking worldwide. Before assuming that role in June 2023, Holan...Read More
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Daniel FunkeDigital Verification Editor, AFPDaniel Funke is a Digital Verification Editor for AFP. He previously worked as a staff writer at PolitiFact, a reporter for the International Fact-Checking Network...Read More
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Heaven Taylor-WynnMultimedia Reporter, MediaWiseHeaven Taylor-Wynn is a digital journalist who joined MediaWise in 2019 shortly after graduating from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications. The...Read More
