Key figures from major US newspapers, news sites and TV describe their fears about covering this year’s
election – and ideas on how to get it right
In the weeks after the election of
Donald Trump in 2016, the
American media went through deep soul searching. Most news outlets had been taken by surprise by Trump’s victory, had failed to see the rise of the electorate that would put him in the
White House, and had been led by the clickbait of his tweets. Then there was Hillary Clinton’s emails and an arguable failure to appreciate the importance of misinformation and
Russian interference in the election.
This time the press has pledged to do better. Yet, with less than a year to go before Americans go to the polls again, there are already signs that mistakes of the magnitude of 2016 may be repeated or new challenges arise.