Jaci Clement

CEO & Executive Director, Fair Media Council

American media scholar, nonprofit executive, writer, public speaker, and award-winning podcast host.

 

Jaci Clement is an American media scholar, nonprofit executive, writer, public speaker, and award-winning podcast host whose work centers on media literacy, ethics, and digital communication.

As Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Fair Media Council (FMC), she leads initiatives that connect the public with the media to elevate standards in news and media. Her work emphasizes media accountability by keeping the media responsive and responsible to the communities it serves and advocating for keeping local news local to ensure vibrant communities, high quality of life standards, and competitive business environments. Under Clement’s leadership, FMC’s mission marries media accountability with media literacy—recognizing that one cannot exist meaningfully without the other in today’s media-driven world.

She developed the Folio Awards, FMC’s flagship program, to further the two-sided mission of the organization. The Folio Awards recognize excellence in journalism and digital media on the local, regional, and national levels. In addition to serving as a “green-light ethics program” that highlights what the media is doing right, the awards double as a media literacy initiative—educating the judges from diverse professional backgrounds on how to identify quality news and digital content.

Clement has hosted, and in some cases held fireside chats with, prominent media and public figures, including CBS News anchor Dan Rather, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, PBS host Margaret Hoover, NBC anchor Al Roker, Newsday owner Patrick Dolan, CNN senior political analyst John Avlon, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, Wall Street Journal investigative reporter John Carreyrou, Associated Press correspondent Helen Thomas, Newsweek columnist Eleanor Clift, journalist and author Michael Wolff, and Atlantic journalist Michael Powell, among others.

She is also the author of ”12 Tactics to Outsmart Misinformation in the Age of AI & Deepfakes: Empowering Yourself Through Digital Literacy” (2024), which outlines outdated strategies to verify online information and what to do instead.

She has also created the Media-Savvy Blueprint and Masterclass Series to train communication professionals, nonprofit leaders, educators, and business executives in ethical communication and media strategy. These programs explore critical issues such as artificial intelligence and media ethics and contribute to FMC’s broader role in shaping how news and media are produced, evaluated, and consumed.

Previously, Clement served as Associate Publisher at ”Long Island Business News” and held leadership roles at Dolan Media and Times Mirror Co., both of which owned newspapers across the country. In those roles, she worked with publications nationwide to share best practices and support newsroom strategy and performance. She was a speechwriter for ”Newsday” Publisher Raymond Jansen and Hofstra University President James M. Shuart. She is regarded as an expert on the New York metro media market, with deep knowledge of Long Island’s media landscape, as well as the content and character of its news.

She writes regularly on media and culture, and her filings with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), New York State Public Service Commission, and amicus briefs have contributed to public interest outcomes. 

Clement has received honors from the Association for Women in Communications, the Long Island Association, and the Advancement of Commerce, Industry and Technology. Her work on ”The News Conference: Real & Powerful” received the Communicator Award for Public Service & Activism.

She has served on advisory boards for ”Media Ethics Magazine” and the Media Giraffe Project and has held memberships in the Women’s Media Center, NYWICI Foundation, the National Press Club, London-based Media Society, and the National Association of Media Literacy Educators.

A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Clement earned a B.A. in communications/journalism from Hofstra University. Her earned her first byline in a daily newspaper when she  was in the fourth grade. While a student journalist for  ”The Hofstra Chronicle”, she authored an investigative article that led to the resignation of a tenured professor.

She is a champion ballroom dancer and lives on Long Island’s North Shore.

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