DEMOCRACY IN THE U.S. IS UNDER THREAT
The U.S. Democracy Day collaborative got its start ahead of the midterms in 2022. It launched as an effort to encourage news organizations across the country to report more — and better— information about the crisis facing democracy here.

We coalesced around one common publishing/broadcasting date: Sept. 15, which is the International Day of Democracy. A total of 400 news organizations participated, including the Gannett chain and dozens of nonprofit and independent outlets.

As we look ahead to 2023, we know we are really looking ahead to 2024. And we know we need to help news organizations build muscle and capacity for what’s to come.

Thanks to support from Democracy Fund, the organizing committee for U.S. Democracy Day has some exciting plans for this year to accomplish just that. We’re planning training webinars, in-person events, content sharing and more.

DRAW ATTENTION TO THE CRISIS AND HOW INDIVIDUALS CAN RESPOND
Democracy Day is an effort to draw attention to this crisis, provide the public with the context and information they need, and bring all types of media together to sound the alarm collectively.

INCENTIVIZE MEDIA COVERAGE THROUGH A NATIONWIDE COLLABORATIVE
We’d like to provide clear explanations of what’s happening (and what could happen), give practical information on what members of the public can do, and uncover new revelations related to anti-democratic efforts.

We have chosen Sept. 15 as a day when print, radio, TV, and digital media on the national and local level will come together to report on the threat we’re facing. This will include original reporting, aggregations of existing reporting, and op-eds. Through the collaboration, we’ll make some Creative Commons reporting free for all to republish and use across various mediums.

HOW THIS COMPLEMENTS OTHER WORK + HOW IT STARTED
We know that some newsrooms are already thinking about this, and some are even building teams to focus on democracy, like at the Washington Post. Newsrooms like KPCC and the Long Beach Post, meanwhile, are shifting their political coverage to focus on democratic erosion and the voters themselves. We hope this effort will light a fire under newsrooms that haven’t yet thought about this coverage strategically.

We’re organizing this initiative with support from media industry groups, several of which have already signed on to support the effort. This idea is initially being developed by Jennifer Brandel, co-founder and CEO of Hearken and lead strategist on Election SOS and Democracy SOS; Stefanie Murray, director of the Center for Cooperative Media; Bridget Thoreson, member collaborations editor at INN; and me, Rachel Glickhouse, learning and labs director at News Revenue Hub. We’re hopeful that an organizational sponsor and funding to manage the project could help us jumpstart this effort.

We believe this effort will encourage more and better reporting on the anti-democratic threats we face. And we hope our actions will serve our country and help protect the rights we hold dear — before it’s too late.

Click here to learn more about how to participate.