This morning, the Colorado Media Project announced its selections for its fall Colorado Engaged Elections Fellowships and Ark Valley Voice (AVV) has been awarded a fellowship for our 2023 election coverage; one of just thirteen Colorado newsrooms selected.
The word “hearken” means “to listen”. The purpose of the training is to help organizations embed curiosity and listening into their election coverage operations, raising the bar for election reporting and civic participation supporting more resilient communities,
Fact checking public training in Kenya elections. Visual courtesy of KTN, Kenya
The fellowship conducted by Hearken, Inc. will include formal election coverage training for new AVV news reporters Carly Winchell and August Toevs, as well as election reporting best practices across the news organization.
“Election integrity is the bedrock of our rule of law,” said AVV Publisher/Managing Editor Jan Wondra. “In our case, we don’t just want to report on what is going on, but it is becoming more important than ever to build trust in our election process, and to address misinformation regarding the security and processes of our elections.”
The three-month-long program is aimed at fostering healthy civic engagement by helping community-based journalists inform and empower their neighbors during crucial election periods.
Meet the 13, statewide Colorado Newsrooms selected for the engaged elections fellowship here.
Through the fellowship, newsrooms will have the opportunity to collaborate, learn from industry experts including including Hearken co-founder Jennifer Brandel, and share best practices for engaged journalism — ultimately raising the bar for election reporting and civic participation. Each participating newsroom will also receive a $1,000 stipend to support their engagement strategy.
To be eligible even to apply, news organizations needed to be members of the Colorado Press or Broadcast Associations, as well as the Colorado News Collaborative. The training sessions begin next week so reporters are ready to cover the upcoming 2023 consolidated elections.
Newsroom participation is made possible with support from the Gates Family Foundation and the Colorado Media Project, and presented in partnership with the Colorado News Collaborative.
The news of this fellowship came just as AVV was asked to participate in the Worlds of Journalism Study. The international study is gathering data from more than 100 countries, with the goal of understanding journalists’ outlook about the field, practices, safety, editorial freedom, and the impact of technology. You can find out more about the project in www.worldsofjournalism.org.
Congratulations to AVV!