2024 Election: How We’re Reporting on Crime, Politics

Crime and legal justice are as soon as once more frequent themes on this yr’s presidential campaigns, leaving voters to kind by way of misinformation and deceptive claims. We all know it may be difficult for anybody to sift by way of the election noise to search out what’s true.

All through this political season, The Marshall Venture is concentrated on offering readers and viewers such as you with correct, well timed context and evaluation about related legal justice and immigration tales, from the presidential stage to some state and native races and poll initiatives.

Right here’s extra about who’re and the way we’re protecting the 2024 election:

What’s The Marshall Venture?

We’re a nonpartisan, nonprofit information group that seeks to create and maintain a way of nationwide urgency concerning the U.S. legal justice system. We have an effect on the system by way of journalism, rendering it extra honest, efficient, clear and humane.

Since our founding in 2014, our reporting has spurred new laws, prompted official investigations, improved situations in particular prisons and jails, gotten individuals out of detention and been cited by everybody from Supreme Courtroom justices to jailhouse attorneys.

Legal justice is primarily a neighborhood problem, ruled by state and native legal guidelines which can be enforced by native authorities. That’s why we’re constructing information groups that cowl native legal justice points for native audiences, together with in Cleveland, Ohio, and Jackson, Mississippi.

What ought to I anticipate from The Marshall Venture’s election protection?

Political campaigns usually characteristic deceptive claims and debates about crime, legal justice and immigration. Via our deeply researched tales on key legal justice subjects, we’ll present necessary context and historical past that can assist you assess what the candidates are saying and what their information present. We’ll publish clear, accessible explanations of advanced subjects that come up this yr.

And we’ll discover how crime and legal justice weigh on the minds of voters. This may embrace our landmark survey of the political opinions of individuals behind bars, who’re extra politically numerous as a gaggle than many would possibly suppose.

How do you select tales to report on?

We have a tendency to decide on tales that aren’t being lined robustly by different information organizations — or we establish angles of a high-profile story which have but to be explored. With regards to a narrative as massive and sprawling as a presidential marketing campaign, each U.S. information outlet is protecting it not directly. We’ll zero in on crucial legal justice and immigration points within the marketing campaign that can assist you make knowledgeable choices as voters, residents and group members.

What aren’t you going to cowl?

Our foremost focus is legal justice reporting, so we received’t cowl the overall ups and downs of every candidate — aka “horse race” protection — and we received’t write about different insurance policies or points. You may hardly ever discover us protecting breaking information. We all know fast-paced political information cycles might be overwhelming — we hope to earn your consideration with considerate, bigger-picture tales.

We are able to’t cowl each single story or angle that touches on legal justice or immigration and the election. We’ll take note what individuals surprise or must know as our journalists uncover info by way of authentic reporting, analyzing knowledge and extra.

How do you make sure that your journalism isn’t biased?

The Marshall Venture is a journalism outlet, not an advocacy group. We don’t promote or endorse any political events or candidates, insurance policies or opinions, and we don’t strategy any problem with an end result in thoughts. We discuss to sources who’ve a variety of beliefs and positions, and our reporters observe the info the place they lead.

We intention to supply journalism that’s correct in its info, honest in its interpretation and presentation and impartial in its judgments — in a phrase, reliable. Learn our Code of Ethics.

Why aren’t you calling Donald Trump a “felon”?

We don’t use phrases akin to “felon” to explain anybody, together with former President Trump. Right here’s why: We intention to be as clear as attainable, and honest to the individuals we cowl. Phrases akin to “felon” or “inmate” could also be generally utilized in different information tales, however they aren’t impartial descriptors. Many individuals who’ve been convicted of crimes or have served time in jail expertise these phrases as demeaning and degrading. And such labels can have lasting, damaging results, following individuals round for all times, usually lengthy after they full their sentences.

Years in the past, we developed a coverage primarily based on the precept of “people-first” language; this strategy avoids turning one side of an individual’s life into an all-encompassing label. Our coverage isn’t an try to exonerate anybody or decrease victims’ experiences. It’s designed to advertise precision and accuracy and to convey the humanity of people who find themselves routinely dehumanized by the media and society. Learn extra in our “Language Venture” from 2021.

How can I discover your election protection?

You possibly can view our web site’s election web page or obtain tales by subscribing to our free newsletters and by following us on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Fb. We routinely co-publish our work with native and nationwide information shops throughout the nation, so that you’ll discover us of their newsprint, TV and radio reveals and web sites.

How do you get information to individuals behind bars?

Our award-winning print publication Information Inside circulates freed from cost in additional than 1,000 prisons and jails throughout america. Our video collection Inside Story — written, directed and produced by previously incarcerated employees of The Marshall Venture — examines the realities of the U.S. legal justice system and has been seen by greater than 1,000,000 individuals in prisons and jails.

Who funds The Marshall Venture?

We rely on many companions to assist our work, together with these beneficiant donors, in addition to many members whose contributions make us stronger. In case you imagine in what we do, right here’s how one can donate.

How can I ship you a narrative concept or information tip?

Right here’s how one can attain us for common inquiries, to contact a selected employees member or to ship a narrative concept.