We experienced a good candidates forum on Sept. 20, at the Cliff House, as well as School District 14’s school board candidate forum on Sept. 25 at Manitou Springs City Hall. The Bulletin is co-hosting a forum 5:30 p.m.-9ish Thursday, Oct. 19, at Briarhurst Manor.
Ralph Routon will be our moderator, as he has for previous PPB forums. Ralph and I have been discussing how to make this year’s event the best ever for Manitou voters.
The PPB has been working this year with many other Colorado news sources and we are doing things differently this year and into next year’s political climate. We’ve been attending seminars and training with thecitizensagenda.org and wearehearken.com, and we’re learning a lot.
THINK ABOUT what you really want to know.
I’m happy to report that we are reversing the process and the traditional way candidates and politics in general have been conducted. No more horse race coverage! It will not be so much about the candidate’s platform as about what you want to know, your questions.
We are practicing public-powered journalism because we know that local news coverage is the last bastion of truth and accountability in our community.
A recent report from the Colorado Media Project (authored by director Melissa Davis and a plethora of researchers and contributors) says that Coloradans need greater access to high-quality local coverage of important issues, providing them with critical information they want, trust and need to engage in their communities, civic life and democracy.
Americans of all political stripes seem to have one thing in common: a feeling of being misunderstood and misrepresented in media and by their neighbors, and a common concern for the future of democracy and civic engagement.
Academic studies show that losing access to trustworthy, independent local news coverage results in less civic engagement, greater political polarization, lower voting rates, fewer candidates running for public office, higher costs of local government and weaker economies.
More research results:
• People who consume local news are more likely to vote locally. The act of reading a newspaper can mobilize as many as 13 percent of non-voters to vote;
• Local news can boost voting by young people and help them feel better prepared to go to the polls;
• Voters in districts with less campaign coverage had a harder time evaluating candidates and reported they were less likely to vote. When a newspaper shutters, fewer candidates run and incumbents are more likely to win; and
• Giving voters even the slightest bit of additional information on a candidate (such as occupation) in addition to having just the race or gender, eliminated or mitigated gender and racial/ethnic biases.
We want you, our Manitou residents and voters, to think about what you really want to know from our candidates. Email me at lyn@pikespeakbulletin.org.
What are your top issues? What do you need to know? What do you not know that we can ask for you? Send me your thoughts, and you may hear them asked at the forum.
I like this quote from Jay Rosen of New York University: “Here is what we want the candidates to be discussing because this is what we we’re wrestling with.” The PPB has been wrestling with how to cover our local elections and we will be talking to you about it more in the coming weeks.
Quality local journalism can counter divisive local and national narratives that aim to stoke polarization. People feel a stronger sense of community in places with strong local journalism. And news outlets are not only responsible for social cohesion; storytelling in general is key and we do tell your stories.
SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM!
Support the Bulletin today! Thank you. Please use the QR code, send your check to P.O. Box 1022, Manitou Springs 80829 or go to pikespeakbulletin.org/subscribe to donate or subscribe. The PPB is a 501(c)(3)nonprofit, Colorado registered charitable organization.