As executive editor of the IndyStar and Midwest regional editor for USA Today Network, Hardy oversees more than 20 editors and newsrooms in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana. Before that, she was the editor of the Greenville News in South Carolina and the South Regional editor for the Network. She is and was the first female and African American leader at both news organizations.
Wow, where do I start? Top of mind is the freedom of the press. How will the president ensure that the liberties afforded to all Americans in regard to freedom of speech and expression are respected and valued? And how will those policies be applied to journalists and all Americans? That conversation would involve a detailed discussion on specific examples of what kind of information the president will make transparent and what does he feel should be kept away from the public.
Will there be laws that demand that the president release his personal tax returns, for example, and information about his health status? What in particular would he change or keep in federal freedom of information act laws and what types of information would he insist those laws protect? In that conversation, I would highlight a number of significant and impactful stories that journalists from around the nation have written that have changed lives and spotlighted significant issues that were later addressed.
I would also ask the president his views on the thousands in this country who feel disenfranchised as evidenced by the hundreds of protests in some cases that are still ongoing across our nation. What will the president do to ensure that America addresses the concerns raised by people from all walks of life who during a pandemic have been stating through those protests that they feel disenfranchised and have felt that way for years or decades? What policies and significant efforts will the president embark on, if any, to listen and possibly act on issues raised by these groups?
My last question would focus on COVID-19. This past year, every single person in this country has been affected by it. It’s uprooted how we work, how we shop, how we communicate. What steps would the incoming president take immediately, and in the long-term, to wipe away COVID-19 and to prepare America for the next pandemic that comes our way so that it doesn’t completely uproot our country in every tangible way that I can think of, including economically, medically, culturally and emotionally?
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