CJS2030: The Democracy Initiative

During the Fall 2024 semester, students, faculty and leadership are committed to enhancing democracy through impactful events and workshops.

Democracy Events at Columbia Journalism School

Dean Jelani Cobb sits to the left while Rachel Maddow sits and speaks
JNOW with Rachel Maddow and Dean Jelani Cobb

On September 17, 2024, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, 2020 duPont-Columbia Award Winner, spoke with Dean Jelani Cobb about covering this extraordinary election cycle.

From left to right: Margaret Sullivan, Astead Herndon, Swati Sharma, and Garrett Graff sit during the "Democracy on the Brink" panel
https://youtu.be/yxH06Tmp9nw?si=9rgTwfKJFfiUIKMz
Democracy on the Brink: Is the Press Up to the Task?

The Newmark Cetner for Journalism Ethics and Security welcomed an all-star panel to discuss the state of the press during this contentious moment on April 1, 2024. 

Jessica Huseman of Votebeat, and Margaret Sullivan, Executive Director of the Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security
JNOW with Jessica Huseman and Margaret Sullivan

The annual Hearst lecture featured a conversation covering critical topics like voting coverage and election integrity on October 8. 

Students will also undertake a comprehensive election project by reporting from New York City and gathering stories nationwide for Columbia News Service. After the election, a collaborative program between Columbia Journalism School, the Institute of Global Politics and the University’s Office of the President will analyze the election results.

“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that we’re currently in a moment of democratic crisis.”

Dean Jelani Cobb, at the 2023 Faultlines: Democracy conference


Headshot photo of Sheila Coronel

Columbia Journalism School is addressing the crucial role of journalism in this historic moment in several ways. We are redoubling our long-standing efforts to help American (and indeed global) democracy move forward at a precarious time. This happens on many fronts, and what follows here is a mere sample of that vibrant school-wide endeavor.

In the classroom.

CJS gives every student a solid grounding in accountability reporting, the very foundation of journalism that best serves democracy. This includes required coursework in investigative techniques, taught through the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, aimed at holding powerful people and institutions to account.

The Stabile Center also runs an investigative journalism specialization to prepare students for careers in investigative reporting.  Other coursework includes City Newsroom with an emphasis on New York City government and on holding local institutions accountable.

In order to be a safeguard of democracy, journalism itself must be democratic.

Dean Jelani Cobb
Derin Adetosoye, '25 M.S., Recaps Covering the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election

Through reporting projects and publications. 

Columbia Global Reports, headed by former CJS dean Nicholas Lemann, publishes books based on deep reporting across the globe, many of which illuminate democratic principles and the forces that would destabilize them.

These include: Left Adrift: What Happened to Liberal Politics and The Lie Detectives: In Search of a Playbook for Winning Elections in a Disinformation Age.

Columbia Journalism Investigations, the school’s postgraduate reporting program, employs recent graduates, pairing them with experienced journalists to produce high-impact investigative stories in partnership with leading local and national news organizations.

By holding the press accountable.

Columbia Journalism Review, the nation’s premier press journal, publishes criticism, reporting and commentary about the media and its role in democracy. It aptly calls itself “the voice of journalism,” serving to question the news media’s practices and to maintain its standards. Underlying its work is the concept that if we journalists are to hold other institutions and individuals accountable, we must do the same in our own craft.

In addition, the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security has launched a project to reexamine the practices and standards of newsrooms, particularly in this new era so affected by artificial intelligence, and is revamping the school’s ethics curriculum, a requirement for all masters students.

By bringing people together.

CJS frequently – indeed, almost constantly -- convenes journalists, scholars and historians to discuss these foundational issues.

In April, the Newmark Center hosted a panel of experts for the event “Democracy on the Brink: Is the Press Up to the Task?” to discuss the historically significant 2024 election cycle. At the start of the fall semester, the team from "Bad Press" held a screening and panels at the J-School, highlighting Mvskoke Media's efforts to defend a free press in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Plus, more events from the community

Latino Vote 2024: Panel and Screening

The J-School chapter of NAHJ hosted a panel featuring documentary producer Marcia Robiou, Professor Juan Manuel Benitez and Professor Daniel Alarcon to discuss how political parties are engaging Latino voters in key battleground states this election season.

Awakening Our Democracy: AI in the Ballot Box

Moderated by Dhrumil Mehta, this panel discussed the impact of AI on the 2024 elections and how, without AI literacy and guardrails, AI could be used to mislead and misinform voters. 

The Case Against Eric Adams and Company

On October 15, the J-School co-hosted a conversation with Vital City on the political and legal implications of the allegations against Mayor Adams, featuring Dean Jelani Cobb and perspectives from law enforcement, journalism and government.

Highlight from "The Campaigns and the Coverage" after the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election

Conducting research. 

The Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights provides grants to working journalists, many of which focus on criminal justice and how democratic institutions may be failing the people they are meant to serve. Among many projects, The Li Center for Global Journalism is leading an exploration of the troubling dynamics between foreign and local journalists in producing global reporting – particularly the inequities faced by so-called “fixers.” Toward that end, the center has conducted dozens of interviews with local journalists in places such as Somalia, Gaza, Russia, Ukraine, Sudan and Iran.

Democratizing journalism. 

“In order to be a safeguard of democracy, journalism itself must be democratic,” Dean Cobb has written. This means that journalism education must be accessible, and the school is working hard to make that happen. Such efforts include a Loan Repayment Assistance Program that is pegged to non-profit news organizations. Recent graduates who work in the non-profit news sector will be eligible to have 20 percent of the loan debt repaid per year up to $50,000. In addition, each year a dozen or more summer fellowships allow CJS graduates to work on accountability projects while embedded in local and investigative newsrooms in the United States.

CJS Democracy News

On January 20, 2025, CJS community members reported on the second inauguration of President Donald J. Trump.

Analyzing press narratives: evaluating coverage before, during and after the 2024 U.S. Presidential election.

Co-sponsored with SIPA's Institute of Global Politics and the Office of the President

CJS community covers worldwide election reporting, offering accurate, timely insights.

Desks, Production Rooms and Field Reporting: Students Covering the U.S. Presidential Election.

Governments everywhere must respect journalists’ right to report freely and without fear. 

The Faculty of Columbia Journalism School strongly condemns the intimidation of journalists.

We express our concern and disappointment at The Wall Street Journal’s decision to terminate reporter Selina Cheng.

The CJS professors share the aim of their course: teaching students how to listen to those with differing viewpoints.

Columbia Journalism School in partnership with the Pulitzer Center is proud to announce the graduates from the Class of 2024 who have been selected

The grants will support yearlong reporting projects and will cover costs for data acquisition, analysis, and visualization, additional staff, FOIA

The board of the Maria Moors Cabot Prize condemns the criminalization of independent journalism in Latin America.