At a recent fundraising dinner for the League of Women Voters of Evanston, a discussion about news was the dessert. Getting factual information to voters so they can make informed decisions is a central role of the LWVE. Co-president Georgia Vlahos gave an overview of the League’s activities and its 100+ years of commitment to educating voters and protecting the right to vote.
Over the years, the League and the
Evanston RoundTable have collaborated on such issues as election coverage and affordable housing, and the
RoundTable was the media sponsor of the event. (See the
related RoundTable article.)
Introduced by League co-president Lisa Seegers,
RoundTable executive editor Tracy Quattrocki said 15,000 people read the newsletter every morning, and this year the site has had five million views. Yet, even with a strong corps of writers and loyal following, money is the main challenge. “While people appreciate local news,” she said, “they don’t want to pay for it.”
The present atmosphere of doubt and distrust makes finding a dependable news source tricky. On the reporting side, frank and honest reporting can evoke vitriol when the news clashes with a listener or reader’s preconceptions or biases.
Four Chicago-area journalists, each bucking the headwind of negativity and distrust, discussed how they approach their stories and shared their perspectives with the approximately 80 gathered LWVE members and guests.
Natalie Moore, senior lecturer and director of the audio journalism program at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, served as moderator. Presenting the panel–Adriana Cardona-Maguigad of WBEZ, Rummana Hussain of the
Chicago Sun-Times, and Morgan Elise Johnson, co-founder and publisher of
The TRiiBE–she said that they each “use their experience to break out into new types of journalism.”
Then she asked, “What does ‘freedom of expression’ mean?” Answering her own question first, Ms. Moore said that to her, it means “being free of self-censorship.”
“Being able to tell things for what they are, without fear,” responded Ms. Cardona-Maguigad.
Ms. Johnson said freedom of expression “is about how I represent myself. Can I be myself?” She added, “It’s very hard for me to think of freedom of expression – it’s just expression, and then there’s a reaction.”
Ms. Hussain said, “I think a lot of people have been scared in the last three years.” On the local level, she said, there is fear in suburban newsrooms. Yet, “I feel like I’m finally able to speak my truth.”
“It’s that truth-telling that made them brave,” said Ms. Moore.
During the Q and A period, LWVE member Helen Gagel noted that one guest in the audience was Hannah Cervantes, managing editor of the Evanston Township High School paper, the
Evanstonian, and then asked what advice the panelists would give to young journalists.
Ms. Cardona-Maguigad said that local journalists have to “fight collectively” rather than feel competitive.
Ms. Johnson commented that she is “cautiously optimistic” about journalism even with the advent of AI: “AI can’t stand at the corner and do an interview. AI can only steal and rearrange words.”
And Ms. Hussain added, “I try to be optimistic, because there are a lot of people who are willing to stand up and tell the truth.”