Our weekly roundup of news found at the intersection of media, politics, policy and technology, from the Shorenstein Center and from around the web.
This Week at the Shorenstein Center
News Coverage of the 2016 General Election: How the Press Failed the Voters. A new report from the Shorenstein Center analyzes news coverage during the 2016 general election, and concludes that both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump received coverage that was overwhelmingly negative in tone and extremely light on policy. The study found that, on topics relating to the candidates’ fitness for office, Clinton and Trump’s coverage was virtually identical in terms of its negative tone. “Were the allegations surrounding Clinton of the same order of magnitude as those surrounding Trump?” asks Thomas Patterson, the study’s author. “It’s a question that political reporters made no serious effort to answer during the 2016 campaign.”
Richard Stengel Named Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow. Richard Stengel, former Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. State Department, and former TIME Managing Editor, is the newest recipient of the Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellowship. Stengel’s fellowship will focus on the relationship between the media and the government. During his time on campus Stengel will conduct a study group, meet with students and faculty, speak at various events for the Harvard community and participate in Shorenstein Center activities. He will be in residence from February 1, 2017 through May 2017.
News from Our Faculty, Fellows and Students
The Worst Kind of Fake News Comes from the Cops. Jeffrey Seglin, Director of the HKS Communications Program, discusses the ethical issues that arose when a California police department spread fake news to aid in an investigation earlier this year.
As Republicans Promise Obamacare Demise, Reporters Attempt Their Own Do-Over. Trudy Lieberman, spring 2001 fellow, writes about the shortcomings of news coverage of the Affordable Care Act, and how journalists can improve their coverage moving forward.
The European Union May Be Fragile, but It’s Not Cracking up Just Yet. Richard Parker, Lecturer in Public Policy, discusses the future of the EU and its relationship to the United States in an interview on PRI’s “The World.”
Highlights from the Kennedy School Review. The student-run Kennedy School Review publishes analysis of major policy issues and showcases the best work of Kennedy School students. Richard Parker of the Shorenstein Center serves as the journal’s adviser. Recently, HKS students have considered the path forward after the 2016 election:
- How Changes to the Primary Process Can Improve Democratic Electoral Outcomes, by James Pagano.
- Countering Nativism with Active Citizenry: Protecting the Vote While Arab, Muslim and American, by Hamada Zahawi.
Reflections on the Election and its Coverage
- 86 Pieces of Journalism Wisdom Published in the Month since the Election, from Poynter.
- Reporter’s Notebook: What It Was Like as a Muslim to Cover the Election, from NPR.
- How News Organizations Are Trying to Get People to Talk, and Listen, to Each Other after the Election, from Poynter.
Trump and the Press
- Here’s Where Donald Trump Gets His News, from BuzzFeed News.
- ‘Worse Than Irrelevant’: How Donald Trump’s Potential Press Secretary Views the Press, from Politico. Pushing to Kill Regulations (and Weaken Fair Use), the Newspaper
- Lobby Is Asking Trump for Change, from Nieman Lab.
- Documentary Filmmakers Fear More Legal Challenges in Trump Era, from Columbia Journalism Review.
Algorithms and Democracy
- Google, Democracy and the Truth about Internet Search, from The Guardian.
- Facebook’s Algorithm vs. Democracy, from NOVA Next.
- 10 Ways the Tech Industry and the Media Helped Create President Trump, from The Conversation.
The Uphill Battle against Fake News
- Facebook and Google Make Lies Pretty as Truth, from The Verge.
- Why Do We Fall for Fake News? From the Conversation.
- Most Americans Who See Fake News Believe It, New Survey Says, from BuzzFeed News.
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