Jaci Clement is chief executive officer and executive director of the Fair Media Council, a nonprofit organization that focuses on media accountability and media literacy. She also hosts the podcast, FMC Fast Chat.
Jaci Clement is chief executive officer and executive director of the Fair Media Council, a nonprofit organization that focuses on media accountability and media literacy. She also hosts the podcast, FMC Fast Chat.
Following executive roles at the Times Mirror Company and Dolan Media in Minneapolis, where she worked in both the editorial and business sides of the newspaper industry, Clement led the Long Island Coalition for Fair Broadcasting in 2001. In 2004, she broadened the organization’s mission beyond broadcast oversight to print, digital, and emerging platforms. At that time, the organization adopted a new name, becoming the Fair Media Council. [1]
Clement is also the host of a podcast, *FMC Fast Chat*, which features discussions on media, technology, and culture. [2] She monitors changes in the media landscape and their impact. [3] [4] [5]
Clement was born in Youngstown, Ohio. She first wrote for a newspaper in the fourth grade for The Youngstown Vindicator, the local daily newspaper. While attending Hofstra University, she served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Chronicle, and authored an investigative article that led to the resignation of a tenured professor. She also contributed to the Education section of The New York Times and wrote for local publications on Long Island. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in communication arts from Hofstra University. [6]
Clement has served on advisory boards, including for *Media Ethics Magazine* at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, [7] and participated in the Media Giraffe Project at UMass Amherst. [8] She was also a director of Bethpage Federal Credit Union (now FourLeaf Federal Credit Union). [9]
Clement holds the Executive Communicator designation from the Association for Women in Communications. [10] She was named one of the "Most Powerful Long Islanders" for 2021–2022 by Long Island Business News. [11] Her podcast, FMC Fast Chat, received a W3 Silver Award for Best Podcast Host, and she was honored with a Communicator Award for Public Service and Activism for producing The News Conference: Real & Powerful. [11]
Clement has led efforts to increase media transparency, improve emergency communications, and strengthen the relationship between news outlets and the communities they serve. Her work with the Fair Media Council has helped preserve local news coverage, advocate for critical infrastructure such as cell boosters in coastal regions, [12] and provide thousands of professionals with media training and access to journalists. [13] She has also contributed to journalism discourse through regular commentary on media ethics, credibility, and the evolving news landscape. One example is her piece, “Jeffrey Goldberg and the journalism ethics we forgot,” published by InnovateLI. [14]