Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
People walking down the steps of the U.S. capitol.

DNC's Proposed RCV Ban Sparks Debate Over 2028 Presidential Primaries

Close-up hands of unrecognizable man holding and using smartphone standing on city street, browsing internet, checking social media, using mobile application.

ALS Doesn't Wait. Our Health Care System Still Does.

Defense Secretary Hegseth Testifies Before Senate Appropriations Committee

Can We Fire Hegseth Yet?

A Senior Man Using A Laptop Computer And Paying Bills With Nurse

Not All Change Is Good: Medicaid, Medicare Shifts Are Everyone’s Problem

Six Undeclared Wars Reveal Fatal Costs and Failed Oversight

Six Undeclared Wars Reveal Fatal Costs and Failed Oversight

Meet the change Leaders: Jaisal Noor

Jaisal Noor
Hugo Balta
By Hugo BaltaDec 05, 2024
Hugo Balta
Hugo Balta is a journalist, educator, and communicator. Hugo is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network, a trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network, and an adjunct professor teaching journalism courses.
See More Writings by author

Jaisal Noor is the Solutions Journalism Network’s democracy cohort manager, helping newsrooms reinvent the way they cover politics, including deepening their election coverage beyond the horse race. A graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, Noor has reported for Democracy Now!, The Atlantic, Bolts Magazine, The Real News Network and Baltimore Beat.

Noor leads the Advancing Democracy Fellowship with the goal of finding ways to support more newsrooms in improving their important role in our democracy. In 2025, SJN plans to move the program away from a fellowship model to focus more on the support newsrooms need to thrive. In doing so it will continue to support reporters and editors advancing democracy through innovative approaches that build civic engagement, equity, trust in journalism and healthy discourse.

The program is run by three journalism support organizations — SJN, Hearken and Trusting News — and also supported by the experts at Good Conflict. The goal is to help newsrooms shift their political reporting away from horse-race narratives focusing on candidates and opinion polls, toward stories that prioritize the key concerns of communities and highlight problem-solving approaches to address them, as well as adding transparency and nuance to their reporting. Participating news organizations gain skills in the Citizens Agenda approach, solutions journalism, Engaged Elections, Good Conflict and building trust with audiences.

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Noor a couple of weeks ago for the CityBiz “Meet the Change Leaders” series. Watch to learn the full extent of his democracy reform work:

www.youtube.com

Balta is director of solutions journalism and DEI initiatives for The Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is publisher of the Latino News Network and a trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network.


Latest news

FDA Sign at its headquarters in Washington DC. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or USFDA) is a federal agency of the USA.
Health

FDA Turmoil: Political Interference Threatens Drug Safety Standards

Person writing math equations on a chalkboard.
Democracy

American Democracy Needs a Mathematical Revolution

The GOP isn’t always the best party for conservatives
Ethics & Leadership

The GOP isn’t always the best party for conservatives

People waiting in a line outside as the sun sets.
Electoral Reforms

Texas Confirms Some Flagged As Potential Noncitizens on Voter Rolls Had Provided DPS Proof of Citizenship

Read More

A New Standard for Ethical Immigration Reporting
people holding flag of U.S.A miniature
Photo by Frank Kastle on Unsplash

A New Standard for Ethical Immigration Reporting

Seven months ago, I attended the first day of my Reporting on Race class at USC. Taught by journalist and immigration reporting expert Jean Guerrero, the course offered growth I hadn’t yet imagined, showing me how much I could evolve as a journalist in just one semester.

For the next five months, I researched and reported on an immigration story of my choosing. I wrote about how educators in Los Angeles protect and advocate for students and communities living in fear of ICE deportations. These educators organized community street patrols to keep their neighborhoods safe. Finding sources and producing the final draft took months, but it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my journalism studies so far.

Keep ReadingShow less
Artificial intelligence chip, AI processor, Backgrounds 3D rendered image.

AI is transforming finance, government, and society. As Congress considers new technology laws, the future of democratic oversight depends on wisdom, foresight, and political will.

ispyfriend/Getty Images

Can Congress Govern Disruptive Technology?

Imagine waking up one day to find your bank account frozen because an AI system has incorrectly identified you as a fraud risk. There is no human to call, only another algorithm reviewing your appeal. Hours later, the error is corrected, but the damage has already been done.

Who is actually in charge?

Keep ReadingShow less
The Case for Intergenerational AI Advocacy
The letters ai are displayed on a blurred background.
Photo by Zach M on Unsplash

The Case for Intergenerational AI Advocacy

If Allison Baker and Maria Garcia apply for the same job against Matthew Owens or Joe Alvarez, and Matthew or Joe gets the job despite everything else being the same, that would seem to be a typical case of gender discrimination by the employer.

However, the names and scenarios I described were not drawn from a human example, but from AI. ChatGPT generated female candidates who were, on average, 1.6 years younger than their male counterparts and considered them less qualified than male applicants. Given AI’s pervasiveness in hiring decisions, these biases pose a significant concern.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rebuilding America’s Federal Data System for Trust and Accuracy

How the U.S. can rebuild and improve its federal data system by combining Census, citizen, AI, and nontraditional data for stronger public policy.

sankai/Getty Images

Rebuilding America’s Federal Data System for Trust and Accuracy

The business aphorism, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” applies to countries as well as corporations. The U.S. has relied since its founding on accurate Census, economic, and health and scientific data to set national policy. As an earlier Fulcrum article described, the Trump administration has put many data sources at risk, and advocates are working to save them. But they’re also asking: As we protect and rebuild the national data ecosystem, how do we make it better than it has been in the past?

I recently moderated a webinar on Meeting the Challenge of Measurement, co-sponsored by NAPA, CODE, and the Bridge Alliance, with four leaders in the field: Chris Jackson of the research firm SSRS, Beth Jarosz of the Association of Public Data Users, Francesca Perucci of Open Data Watch, and Dr. Stefaan Verhulst of the GovLab. I also interviewed former U.S. Comptroller Gene Ludwig, author of The Mismeasurement of America. Their insights, plus my organization’s recent work with USAFacts, provide three principles for moving forward.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026