Teddy White Would Have Approved
By Stan Cloud Executive Director Citizens Election Project Back in the summer of 1976, when I was covering Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign for Time magazine, I spent one warm summer evening sitting poolside at the press motel in Americus, Ga., with Teddy White, author of the famous Making of the President books. Between sips of Jack […]
Covering Politics Civic Journalism Style Daily
By Rick Thames Public Life Editor Charlotte Observer When voters sent George Bush into early retirement in 1992, we journalists looked around and said, “This must be the year of the angry voter.” Then came 1994 and the American public really showed us anger, throwing record numbers of Democratic incumbents out of office in Congress and […]
Citizens Election Project
By Stan Cloud Executive Director Citizens Election Project Whatever the outcome of the 1996 presidential campaign, the Citizens Election Project, an undertaking of the Pew Center and the University of Maryland’s College of Journalism, has already demonstrated ways of covering politics that may help restore voters to their rightful place in the process. To the […]
North Carolina: An Unprecedented Partnership
By Rick Thames Charlotte Observer Public Editor North Carolina’s citizens are about to get a bigger voice in the media’s coverage of elections across the state. The state’s largest newspapers – The Charlotte Observer and News & Observer of Raleigh – are among more than a dozen newspapers and broadcast stations cooperating this year in an unprecedented […]
N.H.: “It’s Still the Economy”
By Donald Macgillis Boston Globe “People’s Voice” coordinator One day before he lost the New Hampshire primary, Sen. RobertDoleacknowledged not knowing about what was going on in that state: “I didn’trealize that jobs and trade and what makes America work would become a bigissue in the last few days of this campaign.” If Dole had […]
Hot off the Primaries: Citizens Election Project Case Studies
Six different media partnerships in four states experimented with new ways to focus on citizens’ issues during the presidential primaries and to reframe traditional political coverage so that it was driven less by political insiders. “All shared a common assumption,” said Stanley Cloud, who directed the project, “that something was radically wrong with political […]
“Negative Campaigns: What Can Journalists Do?”
By Jon Margolis Political Correspondent Emeritus Chicago Tribune The very first speaker, not counting the hosts who welcomed us all, disputed the very premise under which we all gathered. A day and a half later, the very last speaker concurred with the first. Sounds like a bummer of a meeting, no? No. Even with […]
Inventing New Election Coverage
From New England to the Pacific Northwest, news organizations all over the country are experimenting this season with new and different ways of focusing on citizens’ issues in covering the elections. The Virginian-Pilot, for instance, is asking candidates to apply for the job they are seeking- to submit a resume and application letter outlining their […]
Civic Catalyst Newsletter
Making a Difference: Covering Campaign ’96
BY DEBORAH POTTER Director, Poynter Election Project For several years, The Poynter Institute has actively encouraged journalists to change the way they cover campaigns — to do a better job of helping citizens make informed decisions in a democratic society. Last year, we decided to study campaign coverage, to see if news organizations that promised […]