News Reset

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In late November of 2019, I was in Atlanta to cover a Democratic presidential debate. There were 10 candidates on stage for the fifth debate of the primary. Remembering that day now, I picture it as if it were a split screen: watching the impeachment inquiry into then-President Trump that was happening back in Washington, D.C., on TV, and then that night watching Democratic presidential primary candidates debate one another.

But thinking back on the 2020 election cycle, it’s hard to even synthesize that debate (and that first impeachment inquiry) as being a part of the story. My main memories of that election do not take place on the campaign trail or in the studios of televised debates but in my home office, where I spent several sleep-deprived days watching results trickle in as states counted mail ballots. I was in the same home office when I watched an insurrection play out just blocks from where I live on Capitol Hill, hearing the sirens as if in stereo on my screen and outside my window as I tried to understand the magnitude of what was happening and convey it to our listeners.

I’ve been working in the news — and covering elections — since 2012, and each presidential election has felt historic in its own way. This year is no exception, with an assassination attempt and an 11th-hour candidate swap. In July, The Washington Post’s opinion section asked readers for ideas to make American politics less toxic and more productive. One of the ideas that emerged was to make campaign seasons much shorter — something that many other democracies around the world have mandated. It seems like readers have gotten their wish, with a new candidate at the top of the Democratic ticket that has made this feel like a whole new election.

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I had a baby in late April, so I’ve been on parental leave for much of this cycle, and during my first few weeks of motherhood, I thought mostly about sleep and milk and baby poop, not politics. As I’ve picked my head back up, it’s been interesting to see what I gravitate toward as a news consumer. I’ve fallen back in love with news podcasts, which for the past few years felt more like work but have kept me company while I’m feeding my baby in the middle of the night and provided the context and expert analysis I’m craving to make sense of headlines and news alerts.

For me as a journalist, this cycle will be especially short. I return to work the last week of October with a fresh perspective as a new mom. But for all of us, I wonder if this short cycle could make for better coverage — and whether it will become the new norm or we’ll return to the yearslong campaigns I remember covering for more than a decade. 

Maggie Penman ’12 is the executive producer of Post Reports, the flagship news podcast of The Washington Post.