Margaret Sullivan has become one of the leading voices in urging fellow journalists to address head on the degree to which the fate of democracy hinges on the November election.
Sullivan last week announced that her newsletter on Substack will focus on this mission.
“We all need to do what we can to make sure American democracy survives in 2025 and beyond. For journalism, that means making sure voters know what the likely consequences of the election are. Given that many Americans seem misinformed or under-informed right now, there’s work to be done.
“My part is inspired by Jay Rosen of NYU who coined the memorable expression ‘not the odds, but the stakes’ to describe what the news media should be focusing on right now. In other words, focus not on the horserace, not on the polls, not on speculation; but on real information and on the huge consequences of the election.
“So over the next weeks and months, I’m going to concentrate here on pointing out journalism that does that well. And while I’d like to stay positive, I think it’s also important to identify the journalism that fails to perform that duty or live up to that mission.”
Sullivan is not new to this. In her final column for The Washington Post in August 2022 — she now writes for the Guardian, in addition to her Substack newsletter — she wrote: “One thing is certain. News outlets can’t continue to do speech, rally and debate coverage — the heart of campaign reporting — in the same old way. They will need to lean less on knee-jerk live coverage and more on reporting that relentlessly provides meaningful context.”
