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Welcome to Stop the Presses, a weekly newsletter about how right-wing extremism has exploited the weaknesses in American journalism and what we can do about it.

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10 ways for political media to fix their failures

Here’s a special expanded edition of Media Misses after a campaign full of missteps.

Mark Jacob Oct 31

In a special pre-Election Day edition of Media Misses, Steven Beschloss and I suggest 10 ways for journalists to repair their failures in political coverage:

1. Stop platforming proven liars.

2. Don’t be a stenographer.

3. Stop obsessing about polls. 

4. Describe the stakes of things.

5. Stop being distracted by trivia.

6. Speak truth to power.

7. Do instant fact-checks using video.

8. Don’t assume impartiality is the highest value.

9. Write clear, direct headlines — stop vague-posting 

10. In a democracy, the press has a responsibility to sustain it.

Steven Beschloss is the author of the outstanding “America, America” newsletter. Consider subscribing. Also, subscribe to my free “Stop the Presses” newsletter if you haven’t already.

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