Is The Role of The Journalist to Save Democracy?
Nonprofit news is more important than ever this election season.
By Carolyn Gevinski
Photo by Carolyn Gevinski
Dave Jorgenson, senior video reporter leading the Washington Post TikTok Team, posted an explainer video about the Post’s decision not to endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election.
“You remember like 50 years ago when our editorial section did not regularly endorse candidates?” Jorgenson asked, acting out the role of Jeff Bezos.
“You mean, like, before Watergate?” Jorgenson pretended to be a flabbergasted Editorial Board member.
“Oh, so you do remember! Let’s do that again to keep with tradition! I’m sure there won’t be a massive reaction to this.” Jorgenson-Bezos joked.
Eleven days before the 2024 Presidential Election, The Washington Post announced that this year and in presidential races moving forward, the paper would not endorse a candidate. This is the first time the Washington Post hasn’t announced an endorsement in 36 years.
The decision drew immediate backlash from journalists and readers across social media. Post columnist Robert Kagan and editor-at-large in the opinion department, resigned in protest. A group of 11 Washington Post columnists co-signed an article condemning the decision. Kagan’s resignation was followed by editorial board members David Hoffman and Molly Roberts.
Over the next three days, more than 200,000 people canceled their digital subscriptions to the Post, according to NPR. Grassroots Magazine could not independently confirm the figure.
Journalism may not have started with the primary aim of “saving democracy,” but it did begin with a goal of serving the public. The extreme backlash to the Washington Post publisher’s decision may indicate that the newspaper failed to serve the public adequately during a period where our democracy is being threatened by a violent right-wing faction.
Responding to backlash, Bezos published an Op-Ed titled, “The hard truth: Americans don’t trust the news media.” The publisher argued that presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election, and instead create a perception of bias. “No undecided voters in Pennsylvania are going to say, ‘I’m going with Newspaper A’s endorsement,’” Bezos wrote, choosing not to back his claims up with data in the article.
“When it comes to the appearance of conflict, I am not an ideal owner of The Post,” Bezos wrote, speaking to perceived conflicts of interest when it comes to his businesses. “Every day, somewhere, some Amazon executive or Blue Origin executive or someone from the other philanthropies and companies I own or invest in is meeting with government officials.”
As a journalist and a reader, I found Bezos’ decision ironic when placed next to the newspaper’s motto: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”
While I don’t agree with his argument, or his decision to reject the Editorial Board’s decision to endorse Kamala Harris, I do believe that he had an argument when he wrote, “Many people are turning to off-the-cuff podcasts, inaccurate social media posts and other unverified news sources, which can quickly spread misinformation and deepen divisions.”
No matter who our next president is, restoring faith in the media is vital to the preservation of democracy. To do so, the public needs to know that there are trustworthy, non-mainstream sources of news.
Grassroots Magazine was very recently officially registered as a not-for-profit organization in the state of New York. There’s a reason we wanted to become a nonprofit rather than a traditional magazine. I’ll spare you most of the history of the nonprofit news boom, but for some context, as advertisers began pulling funding from newsrooms over the last decade, and the advertising model of journalism largely failed, journalists behind the scenes hunted for new solutions to continue their important work. That's when nonprofit newsrooms started popping up across America.
Nonprofit journalism has a framework to support a more rigorous ethical checklist with a greater separation between funding sources and published content. Oftentimes, foundations that support nonprofit newsrooms have very general goals in mind when helping local outlets grow.
ProPublica, one of the most well-known nonprofit media companies, also has one of the most rigorous and clear-cut Codes of Ethics on their website. And due to their nonprofit status, they are required by the IRS to have a Conflict of Interest Policy.
Nonprofit news is not a perfect model. There will always be space for error and bias in media. But if you’re looking to supplement that podcast, YouTube channel, or favorite influencer, with a more streamlined, transparent source of news, I urge you to turn to nonprofit companies as we forge into the unknown this election season and for the result that follows.
Below are some local nonprofit news outlets to pay attention to.
New York City:
New York Focus, “an independent nonprofit newsroom investigating power in the Empire State.”
Capital B, “a local-national nonprofit news organization that centers Black voices, audience needs and experiences, and partners with the communities we serve.” Capital B has a section specific to election coverage.
Documented, “an independent, non-profit newsroom dedicated to reporting with and for immigrant communities in New York City.”
Votebeat, “a nonprofit news organization committed to reporting the nuanced truth about elections and voting at a time of crisis in America.” Votebeat is based in New York but produces national news coverage.
THE CITY, “serves the people of New York through independent journalism that holds the powerful to account, deepens democratic participation, and helps make sense of the greatest city in the world.”
City Limits, “uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.”
Futuro Media, “creates multimedia content for and about the new American mainstream in the service of empowering people to navigate the complexities of an increasingly diverse and connected world.” They are based in Harlem but cover stories across the US.
The Yonkers Ledger, “is an independent, not-for-profit, community news publication about all things in Yonkers, New York,” which is just outside of NYC, but I feel like it counts, so I’m including it here.
New York State:
Central Current, “a nonprofit, nonpartisan newspaper for people building a life in Central New York.” Central Current is based in Syracuse. They recently wrote a fascinating story about the Onandaga Nation that you should definitely read.
Rochester Beacon, “a digital publication and community forum in Rochester, N.Y., that provides an in-depth look at the region’s complex challenges.”
Hudson Valley Pilot, “a vital news, information and community service serving the people of Rhinebeck and our neighboring towns and villages.
Investigative Post, “is playing an outsized role in providing Buffalo and Western New York with in-depth, public interest journalism that make for an informed citizenry.”
New Pine Plains Herald, “a nonprofit digital newsroom serving Pine Plains, Ancram, Gallatin, Milan and Stanford with quality local journalism,” according to their facebook page.
Peekskill Herald, “began as a weekly blog in 2019 [...] In July of 2021 Peekskill Herald was incorporated as a nonprofit digital news site.”
The Daily Catch, a private, non-profit, non-partisan, online newspaper with federal 501(c)(3) status devoted to reporting on the news, personalities, and activities of people, schools, merchants, farms, and government in and around the Hudson Valley towns of Red Hook and Rhinebeck, N.Y.
The Highlands Current, “a New York State not-for-profit corporation publishing The Highlands Current weekly newspaper and its digital version at highlandscurrent.org.”
The Ithaca Voice seeks to, “be the leading media platform that informs, connects, and engages the people of Tompkins County with trusted news, information, and commentary.”
The Adirondack Explorer is, “the voice of the Adirondack Park.”
Tomorrow, as voters across the country cast their ballots, Grassroots Magazine and nonprofit news organizations will be there to get you the news you need and can trust.
Carolyn Gevinski is a co-founder and co-editor-in-chief at Grassroots. She can be reached at carolyn@grassrootsmagazinenyc.com