With the November election just days away, WKAR-TV's "Impact: Michigan" is returning for a final episode this year on democracy.
The show delving deep into issues affecting regular Michiganders has covered housing affordability, teen mental health and technology use in classrooms so far.
Host Sheri Jones says are tapping into young people once again by exploring how members of Gen Z feel about voting, political trust and civic engagement.
"I think that sometimes we underestimate just how engaged young people really are," Jones said.
"They're getting their information from places different than our parents or our grandparents, like social media, and they're questioning institutions, and they're finding new ways to make their voices heard."
The latest episode features a conversation with a content creator, a journalism student and an organizer of a student group that creates neutral spaces for political discussions.
"They're all very anxious to see what happens next because they talked about things going on in their world, how expensive groceries are, how expensive their gas is, how expensive living is, and their perspectives are very unique."
A majority of the episodes from "Impact: Michigan" this year have featured conversations with young people. Jones says that all happened organically.
"These are our future leaders. They will be making a lot of decisions, and it's important that this conversation includes all of us," she said.
"Impact: Michigan" airs episode Friday, October 30 at 6:30 p.m. on WKAR-TV. It's available now at wkar.org.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: With the November election just days away, WKAR-TV's "Impact: Michigan" is returning for a final episode this year on democracy.
Sheri Jones is the show's host, and she joins me now to talk about what viewers can expect. It's good to have you here with us, Sheri.
Sheri Jones: Thank you, Sophia. It's been wonderful to do a reflection on these pieces. I appreciate it.
Saliby: This episode isn't just about democracy. There's a focus on how members of Gen Z feel about voting, political trust and civic engagement. Why did you decide to take that approach?
Jones: When we planned it out earlier in the year that the final one was going to be on democracy right before the election, I thought this is going to be a very special episode, and it is because we really talk about Gen Z and that this generation will shape the future of our democracy.
And I think that sometimes we underestimate just how engaged young people really are. So, you know, they're getting their information from places different than our parents or our grandparents, like social media, and they're questioning institutions, and they're finding new ways to make their voices heard.
So, this is a very interesting show. I'm really happy with how it turned out.
Saliby: Was the initial plan at the beginning of the year when you settled on democracy as a topic for this last episode to talk to young voters, or did that kind of just come up organically as you've worked on the show over this past year?
Jones: Well, definitely, we wanted to hear from Gen Z because it's really fascinating how young people are bringing their different perspectives into so many different avenues in the world in which we live, and and this one was special because we have a Michigan content creator, we have someone else from MSU Middle Ground, and then we have one of my journalism students.
So, it was very curious to ask them about what is social media's influence on politics, and we talked about polarization and misinformation and AI's functioning on the political climate. But also what does it take to earn their trust, right? So, how they look at the political and democratic process was very interesting.
Saliby: Do you feel like those ways of earning trust are different for somebody who's maybe 19, 20 compared to a 40-year-old or a 50-year-old who's voted quite a few times?
Jones: Oh yes, absolutely. It's very interesting when they give more credence to someone who is a content creator than they do a news anchor or even the political candidate themselves. So, it's very important that we tapped into that because they don't have a lot of trust, right?
And where are they going to get their information? So, we had those three different perspectives on the panel, and they took the conversation in their own direction, which is what I wanted them to do, to have a civil discourse right here in front of us.
Saliby: And are there any other topics that are going to be covered in the episode that you think is important to shout out?
Jones: You know, democracy, we talked about the fact that it just doesn't happen on Election Day, right? It's about what happens every day. So how we listen, how we treat one another, whether you're willing to participate in something that's bigger than yourself, really. And this next generation has a very important role to play, and they talked about that.
They're all very engaged. They're all very anxious to see what happens next because they talked about things going on in their world, how expensive groceries are, how expensive their gas is, how expensive living is, and their perspectives are very unique. And I think multi-generations will really enjoy this episode on Gen Z and democracy.
Saliby: And so close to this election, what do you hope viewers, kind of of all ages, get out of this installment then?
Jones: You know, I'm really hoping that they'll come out of it with a very positive reaction. That, you know, that Gen Z didn't just inherit the world that they're in; they actually want to help shape what comes next. And we all have responsibility in that.
I like the fact that WKAR is offering early voting right here. This is something that we have a right to do, and to encourage more people to take part in this, in democracy, in the process, and to see where it comes. Because everybody has a voice, and those voices must be heard.
Saliby: You know, when you launched this show at the beginning of the year, I feel like it was a focus on delving deep into issues, but three out of the four episodes have really had a focus on young people.
So, it's not just diving deep into issues, but also kind of providing for a traditional public television audience kind of a new perspective on maybe things they've heard before. Was this something you expected going into this show as you started, or is this kind of something that happened organically?
Jones: You know, I spent nearly four decades in journalism telling stories about issues that affect our community, and now being a professor of practice here at Michigan State, I'm spending time every day with a lot of young people who are very thoughtful, and they're curious, and they're passionate, and they're very eager to make a difference.
And when I look at the year the "Impact: Michigan" has had, we've talked about mental health and artificial intelligence, and young people are at the center of so many conversations. And that's why these types of conversations are very important. These are our future leaders. They will be making a lot of decisions, and it's important that this conversation includes all of us. And it just was organically born, and I'm very proud of it.
And my producer Nicole Zaremba, she did a terrific job in building out these shows, and I think they build on each other, so it's important for us to go back and and look at them also as a unit over the year. So very proud.
Saliby: Sheri Jones is the host of "Impact: Michigan." Thank you for joining us.
Jones: Thank you.
Saliby: You can catch the new episode Friday at 6:30 p.m. on WKAR-TV and at wkar.org.
