Facts, lies, elections and the press: In search of a shared national story

“Facts can’t fix this.” That was the headline that emerged from a post-election discussion recently at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard Law School about how the press fell short covering the presidential election. The point: The press constantly repeating facts and pointing out lies won’t stop a man like Donald Trump from building a…

Missouri’s broad redaction law declared unconstitutional

Updated Dec. 22: A state judge ruled Dec. 20 that Missouri’s strict law redacting the names of witnesses and victims from court records violated both the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Open Courts provision of the Missouri Constitution. Judge Aaron J. Martin, ruling out of Cole County Circuit Court, said a “plain…

Anti-abortion activists want to take Carbondale to the Supreme Court. Here’s what we know so far 

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade placed Carbondale at the heart of the abortion access debate. As conservative states across the Midwest and South swiftly moved to ban abortion, Illinois emerged as a refuge for people seeking access to reproductive care.  Health care providers saw Carbondale, in particular, as an important…

‘Journalism Jobs Crisis: A Call to Action’ event highlights impact of layoffs on journalists of color, women

The majority of journalists who were laid off or took buyouts since 2022 were early in their career or in their positions for three years or less, a new report found. The majority were women (68%) and journalists of color (42%), according to the results of a survey from the Institute for Independent Journalists that…

Former leaders of America’s top newsrooms dissect Trump victory, look ahead at what’s in store for press

The press failed to understand the voters who are returning Donald Trump to the White House, former Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron said. As in 2016, when Donald Trump was first elected president, “we didn’t understand the country well enough,” Baron said during a recent conversation with former New York Times executive editor Dean…