Episode 211: Skipping the Horse Race: Issues-Based Election Reporting

Special thanks to our guests:

Elizabeth Estrada is a Cuban American reporter, editor, and producer. As Spotlight PA’s democracy editor, Elizabeth connects voters with the information they need in order to confidently participate in our democracy. She helps shape the growth of Spotlight PA’s service journalism around voting and elections through community engagement, partnerships, and interactive tools. Previously, Elizabeth worked at WHYY, Philadelphia’s public radio station, as an engagement editor, where she reported positive stories through her original Feel Good Friday series, launched the station’s first-ever bilingual series, and managed an opinion and essay section. Prior to working in journalism, Elizabeth worked at various nonprofit film organizations, supporting women and diverse media makers. She currently serves as the board chair of PhillyCAM, Philadelphia’s public access station. Originally from Queens, New York, Elizabeth now lives in Philadelphia.

As director of journalism at WITF, Scott Blanchard works on things like newsroom strategy, culture, ethics, and training; he works with reporters (mainly climate reporter Rachel McDevitt) on stories; and he’s deeply involved with our community engagement efforts and collaborations with other news organizations. Blanchard came to WITF in 2017 as editor of StateImpact Pennsylvania, a public media collaboration covering the state's energy economy, and we are now a leading source for climate news in the state. He later became senior editor for WITF News and StateImpact, and, in 2022, director of journalism. Before coming to WITF, Blanchard spent more than16 years at the York (Pa.) Daily Record, where he was a projects and investigative editor.

News Over Noise is a co-production of WPSU and Penn State’s Bellisario College of Communications.