You are cordially invited to join the Hoover Institution Center for Revitalizing American Institutions on Thursday, May 14, from 4:00 to 4:50 PM PT in Hauck Auditorium for a panel discussion on The Peril and Promise of Local Journalism in American Democracy.
News media have undergone massive change in recent decades. A variety of new information platforms have emerged, while traditional news outlets have at times struggled to make the transition into a digital-native era. These developments have been particularly acute at the local level, where many Americans now live in “news deserts.” Our eminent panelists will discuss how these developments have fundamentally altered American politics, including regional disparities in representation, the accountability of government officials, and electoral campaigns. Additionally, we will consider how the changes have shaped journalists’ responsibilities and media innovations.
About the Speakers
Neil Chase is the Chief Executive Officer of CalMatters, the nonprofit newsroom covering California policy and politics. He was formerly Executive Editor at The Mercury News and the East Bay Times in the Bay Area, and was a journalist at the San Francisco Examiner, Arizona Republic, CBS MarketWatch, and The New York Times, and was an assistant professor at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He currently serves on the boards of directors at LION Publishers and UNITE-LA and previously chaired the Board for Student Publications at his alma mater, the University of Michigan.
Elizabeth Green is the Founder and CEO of Civic News Company, the nonprofit publisher of Chalkbeat, Votebeat, and Healthbeat, leading a growing network of local newsrooms across the United States. In addition to Civic News Company, she led the Summit for Local News in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation and published the Roadmap for Local News in 2023, helping to spur MacArthur’s $500 million Press Forward initiative for local news. She has also written for The New York Times Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, and The Atlantic.
Vicki Liviakis is an Emmy Award–winning journalist, television news anchor, and producer, with decades of experience in premium nonfiction and narrative storytelling. She is a former national network correspondent and anchor for NBC, CBS, Fox, Paramount, and PBS, with international reporting across Europe and Asia and the creator of acclaimed series and documentaries for cable and public broadcasting, earning multiple Emmys and a Webby.
Janine Zacharia, a former journalist for the Washington Post, Bloomberg, Reuters, and other news outlets, is the Carlos Kelly McClatchy Lecturer in Stanford's Department of Communication and a winner of the 2020–21 Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching in the School of Humanities and Sciences. She is the author of several playbooks, including How to Report Responsibly on Hacks and Disinformation, and Polarization and the Press: 12 Ways to Restore Respect for Your Reporting.
