Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
Prediction Markets Are Gambling, Despite What They Tell The Government

Prediction Markets Are Gambling, Despite What They Tell The Government

Medicare Health Insurance Card. Social Security Card with Stethoscope and pen

Saving Medicare Republicans Are Privatizing Medicare

MAGA is starting to question Trump

MAGA is starting to question Trump

May 5 primary ballot issues affect Ohioans' daily lives

May 5 primary ballot issues affect Ohioans' daily lives

Rolling Back Health Equity Training Requirements in Medical Schools Harms Us All

Rolling Back Health Equity Training Requirements in Medical Schools Harms Us All

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

Fulcrum Roundtable:  ‘Chilling Effect’ on Dissent
Ethics & Leadership

Fulcrum Roundtable:  ‘Chilling Effect’ on Dissent

Texas is Center Stage During National Muslim Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill
News

Texas is Center Stage During National Muslim Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill

Republican, Democratic and independent checkboxes, with the third one checked
Electoral Reforms

California Schemin’

Read More

An illustration of a person standing alone on a platform and looking at speech bubbles.

A bold critique of modern democracy and rising authoritarian ideas, exploring how AI-powered swarm digital democracy could redefine participation and governance.

Getty Images, Andriy Onufriyenko

The Only Radical Move Forward: Swarm Digital Democracy

We are increasingly told that democracy has failed and that its time has passed. The evidence proffered is everywhere, we are told: Gridlock, captured institutions, performative elections, a public that senses, correctly, that its voice rarely translates into real power. Into this vacuum step dystopic movements like the Dark Enlightenment and harder strains of Right-wing populism, offering a stark diagnosis and an even starker cure: Abandon the illusion of popular rule and return to forms of authority that are decisive, hierarchical, and unapologetically exclusionary. They present themselves as bold, clear-eyed, rambunctious, alive, and willing to act where others hesitate. And all to save the world from itself.

But this framing depends on a sleight of hand: It assumes that what we have been living under is, in fact, democracy, and that its failures are the failures of democracy itself. That is the first mistake.

Keep ReadingShow less
An illustration of orange-colored megaphones, one megaphone in the middle is red and facing the opposite direction of the others.

A growing crisis threatens U.S. public data. Experts warn disappearing federal datasets could undermine science, policy, and democracy—and outline a plan to protect them.

Getty Images, Richard Drury

America's Data Crisis: Saving Trusted Facts Is Essential to Democracy

In March 2026, more than a hundred information and data experts gathered in a converted Christian Science church to confront a problem most Americans never see, but that shapes nearly every public debate we have. The nonprofit Internet Archive convened this national Information Stewardship Forum at their San Francisco headquarters because something fundamental is breaking: the country’s shared foundation of facts.

For decades, the United States has relied on a vast ecosystem of federal data on health, climate, the economy, education, demographics, scientific research, and more. This data is the backbone of journalism, policymaking, scientific discovery, and public accountability. It is how we know whether the air is safe to breathe, whether unemployment is rising or falling, whether a new disease is spreading, or whether a community is being left behind.

Keep ReadingShow less
Man lying in his bed, on his phone at night.

As the 2026 election approaches, doomscrolling and social media are shaping voter behavior through fear and anxiety. Learn how digital news consumption influences political decisions—and how to break the cycle for more informed voting.

Getty Images, gorodenkoff

Americans Are Doomscrolling Their Way to the Ballot Box and Only Getting Empty Promises

As the spring primary cycle ramps up, voters are deciding which candidates to elect in the November general election, but too much doomscrolling on social media is leading to uninformed — and often anxiety-based — voting. Even though online platforms and politicians may be preying on our exhaustion to further their agendas, we don’t have to fall for it this election cycle.

Doomscrolling is, unfortunately, part of daily life for many of us. It involves consuming a virtually endless amount of negative social media posts and news content, causing us to feel scared and depressed. Our brains have a hardwired negativity bias that causes us to notice potential threats and focus on them. This is exacerbated by the fact that people who closely follow or participate in politics are more likely to doomscroll.

Keep ReadingShow less
The robot arm is assembling the word AI, Artificial Intelligence. 3D illustration

AI has the potential to transform education, mental health, and accessibility—but only if society actively shapes its use. Explore how community-driven norms, better data, and open experimentation can unlock better AI.

Getty Images, sarawuth702

Build Better AI

Something I think just about all of us agree on: we want better AI. Regardless of your current perspective on AI, it's undeniable that, like any other tool, it can unleash human flourishing. There's progress to be made with AI that we should all applaud and aim to make happen as soon as possible.

There are kids in rural communities who stand to benefit from AI tutors. There are visually impaired individuals who can more easily navigate the world with AI wearables. There are folks struggling with mental health issues who lack access to therapists who are in need of guidance during trying moments. A key barrier to leveraging AI "for good" is our imagination—because in many domains, we've become accustomed to an unacceptable status quo. That's the real comparison. The alternative to AI isn't well-functioning systems that are efficiently and effectively operating for everyone.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026