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Washington U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney told a crowd of journalists at a Syracuse University event Monday night that its getting pretty dark out there when it comes to threats to democracy and the future of the news business.

Romney, R-Utah, lamented the loss of trust in mainstream media and the development of local news deserts across the nation where no newspapers or other independent sources of news are available.

When people increasingly get their news where there are no editors or fact checkers thats a problem, Romney said in his keynote address at an SU ceremony to award the 2023 Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting.

Romney said the erosion in the size and number of news organizations has made it tougher for elected officials to engage with voters.

Worse for us is the fact that the public largely tunes out of political campaigns altogether, he said. It used to be what we called earned media was the heart of a political campaign.

Romney, a senator since 2019, was the 2012 Republican nominee for president. He is also a former governor of Massachusetts.

He told a crowd of more than 250 people who gathered at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington that the stakes have never been higher for democracy.

So, if democracy dies in darkness, were counting on you, and those who are being honored tonight and have shown us the way, to help shed the light of truth on our public electorate, Romney said. Its a task for which I thank you and Im happy to join you this evening.

The Toner Prize honors the life and work of Robin Toner, a 1976 SU graduate who became the first woman to serve as national political correspondent for The New York Times.

After Toner died of cancer in 2008, friends and classmates established the Robin Toner Program in Political Reporting at SUs S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

The friends and classmates also established the annual journalism prize for the nations best political reporting.

The winner of this years prize is a team of reporters at Politico, who broke the news that the U.S. Supreme Court planned to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision for abortion rights.

Politico reporters Josh Gerstein, Alex Ward, Peter Canellos, Hailey Fuchs, Heidi Przybyla, Elena Schneider and Holly Otterbein were honored for a series of articles related to the decision.

The initial Politico story marked the first time in the courts modern history that a draft decision had been disclosed publicly while a case was pending.

The nonprofit news site ProPublica and The Texas Tribune won honorable mention for a series of stories titled Church Politics. The stories explored the political activities of churches and the potential impact on campaigns.

Other speakers at the event Monday night included SU Chancellor Kent Syverud and Mark Lodato, dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

It marked the first time the prize event has been held in person since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Previous speakers at the annual awards ceremony in Washington have included Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

This is the fourth year that a separate prize was awarded for excellence in local political reporting.

Phil Williams, a reporter for WTVF-TV in Nashville, won for a series of stories that examined how laws are made in the Tennessee General Assembly.

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Originally posted here:
Mitt Romney, at Syracuse University event, warns of dark threat to democracy - syracuse.com