Hi all, I'm starting a new election project to get people involved in local newspaper coverage of the presidential election. I'm cross-posting this from over at openLeft. I hope you'll join in the effort.
(cross-posted from openLeft.com)
I'm proud to announce the launch of the Swing State Newspaper Project (apologies to Swing State Project for the similarity of the name), with the initial targeting diary HERE.
The idea came about in the American Blogger series initiated by Paul Rosenberg. You can jump right in by clicking the link if you want to, but to get yourself grounded, especially if you're not familiar with idea, or need a refresher, this diary explains it all for you.
Here was the original impetus for the idea,
If you've ever spent time reading local and regional newspaper sites on the internet, you've probably noticed a disturbing phenomenon; right-wingers have run amok in the comments sections of the newspapers. Progressives may rule blogs and online fundraising and organizing, but when it comes to influencing more traditional media, even if it's in an internet forum, we lag behind. Sometimes far behind. This becomes increasingly problematic as we draw closer to the election. Many more voters read online newspapers than read blogs. So it becomes very important to not only rebut these ignoramuses, but to provide additional context and knock down bad information in news articles covering the presidential race.
To combat this I suggested we monitor online newspaper sites in key swing states until the election. Readers would comment on stories, knock down attacks, add truth to the discussion, and in many cases, contact reporters directly to encourage better reporting (if they got it wrong) or thank them for outstanding writing (if they got it right).
After getting a lot of good ideas for how to carry this idea forward, I've come up with a plan for how to proceed. We'll see how this goes. It may need to be modified or expanded if the project is a success, but I'm ready to get it started.
Go to the extended entry to see the plan.
I have compiled a list of 95 newspapers from 20 swing states around the country. I started this list a few weeks ago, so there's a few states that have moved into swing territory since then (mainly solid blue to lean blue) that aren't on my list (e.g. Minnesota and Oregon). I may add newspapers from these states in the future if warranted, but at this point, I'm thinking these states will move back to solid Obama shortly.
What I will do is post a diary and then update it, once a day, every day, until the election. The link to this diary is HERE. In this diary I will link to five different newspaper articles. If Obama and McCain are in a swing state on a particular day, I will try to include articles from that/those state(s). If it is a particularly important state or campaign visit, I will probably include more than one newspaper from that state. For example, Obama was in Jacksonville, FL this week talking about offshore drilling. For this project then I would try to link to at least two articles from two different newspapers in the state that covered the story. If there are any remaining article slots (of the five for that day), I will randomly choose a swing state newspaper and link to a story from that paper on the election.
Each day I will post a Quick Hit letting people know when the article list for that day has been updated. Some days, when I'm traveling or up against a work/school deadline I won't be able to post articles. On these days, I'd be happy to pass off the duties to anyone else who'd like to fill in. Let me know in the comments if you're interested in something like that and we can set something up.
Originally I proposed that we monitor just one swing state newspaper for an entire week. But I nixed this idea because I don't think there's time to focus on just one paper for 7 whole days. And as long as I'm taking responsibility for finding the articles, I think we can get pretty wide coverage and still maintain a focused effort. I already read an inordinate amount of newspapers every day, so this shouldn't be much of a burden for me to keep this up until the election. The first test run is going on NOW. Comments and questions about this plan are welcome.
Here's the list of newspapers. I've compiled info on the state they're in, the newspaper name and website, the home city, the city's metro population, whether they allow comments on stories, and whether the reporter's email address is provided. In almost all cases I picked newspapers representing the five largest metro areas in the state. I left out two newspapers that would otherwise be on the list because they don't allow comments and don't post the reporter's email address (Dayton, OH and Concord, NH).
State | Newspaper | City | Population | Story Comments? | Reporter Email? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AK | Anchorage Daily News | Anchorage | 362,340 | Yes | Yes |
AK | Daily News-Miner | Fairbanks | 97,484 | Yes | Yes |
AK | Juneau Empire | Juneau | 30,690 | Yes | No |
AK | Kodiak Daily mirror | Kodiak | 12,997 | No | Yes |
CO | Denver Post | Denver | 2,464,866 | Yes | Yes |
CO | Rocky Mountain News | Denver | 2,464,866 | Yes | Yes |
CO | The Gazette | Colorado Springs | 609,096 | Yes | Yes |
CO | The Daily Camera | Boulder | 290,262 | Yes | Yes |
CO | The Coloradoan | Fort Collins | 287,574 | Yes | Yes |
FL | Miami Herald | Miami | 5,413,212 | Yes | Yes |
FL | Palm Beach Post | Miami | 5,413,212 | No | Yes |
FL | St. Petersburg Times | Tampa | 2,723,949 | Yes | Yes |
FL | Orlando Sentinel | Orlando | 2,032,496 | Yes | No |
FL | Florida Times-Union | Jacksonville | 1,300,823 | Blog Only | Yes |
GA | Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Atlanta | 5,278,904 | No | Yes |
GA | Augusta Chronicle | Augusta | 528,519 | Blog Only | Yes |
GA | Savannah Morning News | Savannah | 329,329 | Yes | Yes |
GA | Columbus Ledger-Enquirer | Columbus | 282,756 | Yes | Yes |
GA | The Telegraph | Macon | 229,846 | Yes | Yes |
IA | Des Moines Register | Des Moines | 546,599 | Yes | Yes |
IA | Quad-City Times | Davenport | 376,160 | Yes | Yes |
IA | Cedar Rapids Gazette | Cedar Rapids | 252,784 | Yes | No |
IA | Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier | Waterloo | 163,329 | Yes | Yes |
IN | Indy Star | Indianapolis | 1,695,037 | Yes | Yes |
IN | Northwest Indiana Times | Gary | 698,971 | Yes | Yes |
IN | Journal Gazette | Fort Wayne | 410,070 | No | Yes |
IN | Evansville Courier & Press | Evansville | 349,717 | Yes | Yes |
IN | The Courier-Journal | Louisville (KY, part) | 213,131 | Yes | No |
MI | Detroit Free Press | Detroit | 4,467,592 | Yes | Yes |
MI | Detroit News | Detroit | 4,467,592 | Yes | Yes |
MI | Grand Rapids Journal | Grand Rapids | 776,7442 | Yes | Sometimes |
MI | Lansing State Journal | Lansing | 456,440 | Yes | Yes |
MI | Flint Journal | Flint | 434,715 | Yes | No |
MO | St. Louis Post Dispatch | St. Louis | 2,803,707 | Blog Only | Yes |
MO | Kansas City Star | Kansas City | 1,985,429 | Yes | Yes |
MO | News-Leader | Springfield | 420,020 | Yes | No |
MO | Columbia Missourian | Columbia | 162,314 | Yes | No |
MO | Columbia Daily Tribune | Columbia | 162,314 | No | Yes |
MT | Billings Gazette | Billings | 149,657 | Yes | No |
MT | Missoulian | Missoulian | 105,650 | No | Newsdesk Only |
MT | Bozeman Daily Chronicle | Bozeman | 87,359 | Yes | Yes |
MT | Great Falls Tribune | Great Falls | 81,775 | Yes | No |
MT | Helena Independent Record | Helena | 71,119 | Yes | No |
NC | Charlotte Observer | Charlotte | 1,651,568 | Blog Only | Yes |
NC | News & Observer | Raleigh | 1,527,253 | Yes | Yes |
NC | News Record | Greensboro | 698,497 | No | Yes |
NC | Winston-Salem Journal | Winston-Salem | 463,159 | Yes | Yes |
NC | Asheville Citizen Times | Asheville | 404,320 | Yes | Yes |
ND | The Forum | Fargo | 192,417 | No | Yes |
ND | Bismarck Tribune | Bismarck | 103,242 | Yes | Yes |
ND | Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks | 97,691 | No | Yes |
ND | Minot Daily News | Minot | 63,465 | Yes | Yes |
ND | The Dickinson Press | Dickinson | 23,256 | No | Yes |
NE | Omaha World-Herald | Omaha | 829,890 | No | Yes |
NE | Lincoln Journal Star | Lincoln | 292,219 | Yes | Yes |
NM | Albuquerque Journal | Albaquerque | 835,120 | Sometimes | Sometimes |
NM | Las Cruces Sun-News | Las Cruces | 198,791 | Yes | Yes |
NM | Santa Fe New Mexican | Santa Fe | 142,955 | Yes | Yes |
NM | Farmington Daily Times | Farmington | 122,427 | Yes | Yes |
NM | Roswell Daily Record | Roswell | 62,595 | Yes | Yes |
NH | Boston Globe | Boston (part) | 699,056 | No | Yes |
NH | Nashua Telegraph | Nashua | 402,302 | Yes | Yes |
NH | The Union Leader | Manchester | 402,302 | Yes | No |
NH | Keene Sentinel | Keene | 77,725 | Yes | Yes |
NV | Las Vegas Review-Journal | Las Vegas | 1,836,333 | Yes | Yes |
NV | Las Vegas Sun | Las Vegas | 1,836,333 | Yes | Yes |
NV | Reno Gazette-Journal | Reno | 410,272 | Yes | Yes |
NV | Nevada Appeal | Carson City | 54,939 | Yes | Yes |
NV | Record Courier | Gardnerville | 45,406 | Yes | Yes |
OH | Cincinnati Enquirer | Cincinnati | 2,133,678 | No | Yes |
OH | Cleveland Plain Dealer | Cleveland | 2,096,471 | Yes | Yes |
OH | Columbus Dispatch | Columbus | 1,754,337 | No | Yes |
OH | Akron Beacon Journal | Akron | 699,356 | Yes | Yes |
OH | Toledo Blade | Toledo | 650,955 | Blog Only | Yes |
PA | Philadelphia Inquirer | Philly | 5,827,962 | Yes | Yes |
PA | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | Pittsburgh | 2,355,712 | No | Yes |
PA | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Pittsburgh | 2,355,712 | No | Yes |
PA | The Morning Call | Allentown | 803,844 | Yes | Yes |
PA | The Times-Tribune | Scranton | 549,430 | Yes | Yes |
PA | The Patriot-News | Harrisburg | 528,892 | Sometimes | Yes |
SC | The State | Columbia | 716,030 | Yes | Yes |
SC | The Post and Courier | Charleston | 630,100 | Yes | Yes |
SC | The Greenville News | Greenville | 613,828 | Yes | No |
SC | The Herald-Journal | Spartanburg | 275,534 | Yes | Yes |
SC | The Sun News | Myrtle Beach | 249,925 | Yes | Yes |
VA | The Virginian-Pilot | Virginia Beach | 1,658,754 | Yes | Yes |
VA | Richmond Times-Dispatch | Richmond | 1,212,977 | Yes | Yes |
VA | The Free Lance-Star | NOVA (part) | 906,212 | Yes | Yes |
VA | Roanoke Times | Roanoke | 296,532 | No | Yes |
VA | The News Advance | Lynchburg | 243,580 | Yes | Yes |
WI | Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel | Milwaukee | 1,544,398 | No | Yes |
WI | The Journal Times | Racine (Chicago, part) | 873,162 | Yes | No |
WI | Wisconsin State Journal | Madison | 555,626 | Yes | Yes |
WI | Green Bay Press-Gazette | Green Bay | 301,131 | Yes | Yes |
WI | The Post-Crescent | Appleton | 218,023 | Yes | Yes |
Let's get started!
Comments
This is good.
Thanks for cross-posting.
J
PS Everyone, please recommend this (click the stars) so we can see what happens when a post gets lots of recommends.
Thanks James
I got the idea after reading the N&O's Under the Dome blog one too many times.
Love this idea
I really like this idea. Especially with the amount of viral lies that we are having to deal with this is a great way to create some dedicated pushback. I hope everyone takes some time out of their day to do this.
"Keep the Faith"
"Keep the Faith"
Thank you!
I'm trying to make it as painless as possible by focusing everyone's attention on a couple of articles each day.
Does anyone have a suggestion as to what's the best way to link to the openLeft diary that I'll be updating every day with the articles? On that website, they have a "Quick Hits" sidebar that easily allows me to announce to everyone reading that blog that the diary has been updated the with days articles. But BlueNC doesn't have that. And since I'd like to reach the widest audience, particularly those that don't regularly read openLeft, is there a way to quickly let people know on BlueNC that the article links are ready?
Have you considered a Google Group?
If you set up a Google group, those who join could recieve action alerts for rapid response items.
I like Google Groups because each member can set their account to "no email" and check messages only on the site or choose to recieve each email.
You could spread the word about joining the group, via blogs.
Just an idea, I obviously no clue where you are with this project.
Good work!
NCDem Amy on YouTube
Hmmm....
That might be the best idea. I guess in the meantime until I get that set-up I'll probably cross-post the daily article list here.
I'll sign up
I think it's good to post a list on blogs too. But, if you expect people to go look for something, rather than deliver right to them, they are less likely to access it, imo.
Thus, also having the google group.
Google groups allows you to upload docs too if you wanted to keep an archive of your blog post lists.
Either way, I'll try to help out by responding. Thanks for the doing the research each day!
NCDem Amy on YouTube