Study Group with Eugene Scott

Which Voices Matter: The Role of Opinion Journalism in a Presidential Election

Opinion news is among the most popular types of journalism at media organizations. But how does one produce takes that are fair and accurate in a media climate where disinformation is rampant and many consumers largely come to media to have their biases confirmed?

GUEST: Nia-Malika Henderson, Columnist at Bloomberg Opinion and CNN Senior Political Analyst, will join Resident Fellow Eugene Scott virtually for the October 23 session.

Nia-Malika Henderson is a senior political analyst for CNN, reporting on politics, policies, and people shaping Washington. Henderson reports for the network’s digital and television platforms, and regularly appears as a panelist for CNN’s Inside Politics, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and CNN Tonight with Don Lemon.

Henderson joined the network in 2015 and most recently covered the 2016 election, the Presidential transition, President Donald Trump’s administration and the Democratic party. During the 2016 election season, she reported on the Democratic and Republican candidates, covering Bernie Sanders’ insurgent campaign, Ben Carson’s unlikely bid and Donald Trump’s realignment of the Republican party.

Prior to joining CNN, Henderson was a national political reporter for The Washington Post, where she covered the White House, the 2012 presidential campaign, the 2010 mid-term elections and anchored The Post’s Election 2012 blog. She also covered the first two years of the Obama administration for Politico and was Newsday’s lead reporter covering Obama’s 2008 campaign, the Democratic primary race and the Democratic National Convention. In 2005, Henderson was part of the Newsday team named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting for a series on the history of hip hop. Before joining Newsday’s national staff, she wrote for The Baltimore Sun.

Henderson graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s degree in literature and cultural anthropology, and earned master’s degrees from Yale University in American studies and Columbia University in journalism.

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address. 

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.