Hear from experts and on-the ground reporters about the mechanics of how the AP calls races at all levels across the country, how the count and certification process works, and how reporters should use and convey that information to the public. Viewers will gain a clear understanding of the elections process, helping to build trust amid widespread election misinformation.
Moderator:
Sally Buzbee served most recently as Executive Editor of The Washington Post, the newspaper’s first woman top editor. During her tenure, the Post won numerous Pulitzer Prizes including a public service award for its in-depth examination of the Jan. 6, 2021, post-election insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. She expanded climate and wellness coverage, deepened the Post’s international investigative work and oversaw the creation of new election-night and pre-election analytical tools.
Before joining the Post in 2021, Buzbee was Executive Editor of The Associated Press, guiding the news cooperative’s election coverage, war and conflict coverage and investigative work. As bureau chief for The AP in Washington before that, she helped create the AP’s VoteCast, an alternative to traditional exit polls, and expanded the bureau’s investigative work. She oversaw coverage of two presidential elections including Donald Trump’s 2016 election.
Panelists:
Katie Bernard is a reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer, covering election administration in Pennsylvania and the politics and government of Philadelphia’s suburbs.
Tia Mitchell is Washington bureau chief for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, covering national politics for a Georgia audience. She also shares her political expertise on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, News Nation, NPR, and many other national and international news outlets. Tia is a co-host of the AJC’s “Politically Georgia” radio show and podcast.
Tia is active with the National Association of Black Journalists, where she has served as programming co-chair for national conventions since 2022 and is the immediate past chair of the NABJ Political Task Force. She is also active in her local NABJ chapter, the Washington Association of Black Journalists, and is Secretary of the Washington Press Club Foundation Board of Director. Tia was recently inducted into the Gridiron Club, Washington’s oldest and most prestigious journalism organization.
Tia is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and a lifetime member of the Florida A&M University National Alumni Association. She graduated from FAMU with a bachelor of science degree in journalism. Tia is originally from Louisville, Kentucky.
David Scott is vice president and head of news strategy and operations at The Associated Press. He is responsible for the setting the strategic direction of AP’s news report and driving the implementation of overall priorities and new initiatives in News and across the enterprise. Put most simply, it’s Scott’s job to help AP and its journalists figure out how best to meet our goal to be first with the story for audiences everywhere – and ensure we’re doing it every day. Scott also oversees AP’s public opinion research team and election decision desk, and coordinates AP’s overall coverage of U.S. elections – from the vote count that tells the world who won to the AP VoteCast election survey that explains the reasons why. A graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, he lives in Portland, Maine.
Robert Yoon is a reporter at The Associated Press, with a focus on analyzing elections and explaining the intricacies of the electoral process. He is now covering his seventh presidential campaign cycle. As Director of Political Research at CNN, he received two Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award for his contributions to the network’s election coverage. He recently served as a visiting professor of journalism and public policy at the University of Michigan and has a Master’s Degree from the Harvard Kennedy School.
This event was co-sponsored by The Journalist’s Resource, the Nieman Foundation and the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
