Scott Swafford’s project was designed to instill the importance of local election news coverage through a workshop curriculum offered to small town newsrooms in Missouri. A two-day workshop at the Reynolds Journalism Institute provided journalists with advice, tools and resources needed to more adequately cover local elections.

The ultimate goal of the workshops and Swafford’s research was to have newsroom leaders implement suggestions for better and more thorough election coverage that are designed to help voters make informed decisions. Swafford also wanted to learn whether better election reporting helps build social capital in small communities and whether it is profitable for newspapers.