Framing Power: A Feminist Debrief of the 2026 Midterms

Join Shorenstein Fellow, former videographer to VP Kamala Harris and Rep Jasmine Crockett, and writer Azza Cohen in conversation with journalist Ali Vitali, author of Electable: Why America Hasn’t Put A Woman In The White House…Yet and the host of MSNow’s news show “Way Too Early”, for a feminist debrief of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. Together, they will dissect how political coverage, especially visual media, shaped public perception of women candidates throughout the campaign cycle. Moving beyond election outcomes, they’ll explore systemic gender biases embedded in reporting, photo and video culture, and political image-making. Attendees will gain critical frameworks to interrogate media narratives — and to  advocate for equitable representation in public leadership.

Speakers

Azza Cohen is a documentary filmmaker and former White House videographer for Vice President Kamala Harris, where she documented historic moments across 28 states and 11 countries. She has become a leading voice on visual sexism in media, pioneering the field and launching a national movement to confront bias in political coverage. At Shorenstein, she will develop Split Screen: a multi-pronged initiative including a book manuscript, visual case studies, real-time election analysis, and public education to transform how women leaders are represented in media. 

Ali Vitali is the Host of “Way Too Early” on MS NOW, airing weekdays at 5am ET, as well as the network’s Senior Capitol Hill Correspondent. She previously covered Capitol Hill as a correspondent for NBC News. There, she covered the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential contests from primary to inauguration—on the ground and with the candidates—as well as the 2018 and 2022 midterms, from across the country and in the nation’s capital. She is the author of the book, Electable: Why America Hasn’t Put A Woman In The White House…Yet.