Reporters for Democracy: Covering the Democracy Beat for Local Non-profits

Karin Assmann and Lorenz, A. “Reporters for Democracy: Covering the Democracy Beat for Local Non-profits,” accepted for presentation at the 2025 AEJMC Southeast Colloquium, UNC. Newspaper and Online News Division, March 13-15.

Abstract: In recent years news organizations have been adding a new beat to their repertoires: the democracy beat. This study aims to understand how editors and reporters in local non-profit newsrooms who are assigned to the democracy beat operationalize the role, how democracy and journalism’s role in a democracy are defined by them and in their interaction with sources. We contribute to scholarship about the evolving relationship between journalism and democracy, as well as the importance of beat structures and identities. This study will also provide valuable insights about changing norms and reporting practices in local, non-profit outlets at a time when journalism’s institutional role is being tested.