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 Preshow Return to index of stories... |
Next on New Hampshire Outlook. |
| Hello Return to index of stories... |
Hello. I'm Allison McNair. Welcome to NH Outlook. |
| Intro Informed Voter Return to index of stories... |
For first-time voters, or anyone who feels bombarded by conflicting political ads and soundbites, figuring out who to vote for can be a daunting challenge. Political campaigns have a wide variety of tools they use to target voters - tv ads, direct mail, polling, focus groups. But how does the average citizen sort out which candidate to choose? Producer Richard Ager asked that question, and got some practical advice on where to begin. |
| Informed Voter Return to index of stories... |
Soundup: from primary night polling stations Track: First things first - being an informed voter means doing some homework, which takes some motivation. So the best place to begin may be with a question "am I going to vote, and if not, why not?" Bite: Informed voter tape 1 11:04:30 I think the bottom line out there is people are just really pressed for time, and politics have just fallen to the bottom of our list of priorities. Track: Elizabeth Ossoff is a psychologist doing research into declining voter trends as part of her work at St. Anselm's Institute of Politics. She says it's important to understand the forces that keep people from becoming informed and involved. Bite: informed voter tape 1 11:03:10 I think for one thing people feel disconnected from the political process, government has become so large that we are the government, so people talk about the government as being vague, and it, when they've lost the idea that the founding fathers meant that we were supposed to be the they and the it, and that they actually have control over this they and it, and I think people have lost sight of that, they see it as this entity which steams along independently from their will, and I think that's been facilitated by some politicians in terms of how they run their campaigns as the outsider is we have to get the big government out and things like that. Soundup: Pick 3 5-second soundups from the political ads that ran in the primary - you could white flash between them - I just want to leave the impression of bombardment with ads….ad reel should be in the cabinet Track: Nor are political campaigns the only issue. Voters need to understand how the sources of information have changed. Bite: informed voter tape 1 11:07:35 IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT THE KIND OF COVERAGE THAT WAS TYPICAL OF AN ELECTION LETS SAY IN 1960 AS OPPOSED TO AN ELECTION NOW, WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD BE THE DIFFERENCES? Oh the differences. The sound bite has shrunk from over a minute in those days to about less than eight seconds today, and so everything is being packaged into this tighter and tighter little pocket that then gets fed on the teasers in between the network news shows and in between the local news shows earlier in the day to try to pull people into your newscasts to get you to watch them, or get people to read a newspaper. Bite: Informed voter tape 1 11:05:55 I think people have got to get a sense again of what their role in the political process is, I think the 2000 presidential campaign was a big boost of that, when people could actually see how an individual vote could actually make a difference. Track: For example, George W. Bush won NH by just 7000 votes. If just a few thousand votes had gone the other way in this state, Al Gore would be president today. You can choose how that motivates you. Standup: informed voter tape 2 12:57:30 So, assuming you are going to vote, how do you do so intelligently? How do you navigate the conflicting messages sent out by opposing campaigns and find the candidate who stands for what you believe in? Bite: Informed voter tape 2 12:40:10 "And here we have our learning resource center and our learning resource center is our library without books. We're finding out that for the study of politics today, everything you need is on the internet. Track: Politics professor Dale Kuehne says that just as political campaigns have adapted to new technology, so should anyone who wants to be informed about public life. Bite: Informed voter tape 2 12:14:46 SO WHERE IS A GOOD PLACE TO START? One site that is excellent is politicsNH at PoliticsNH.com. One reason I like the site is because it presents you with lots of diff. Information and provides links to all the diff. Sites that I've just described. So if you go to PoliticsNH you'll find diff news articles and commentaries on NH politics, then if you go to the links you'll be able to find links to the websites to all the diff governor's candidates, candidates for senate, first district for congress second district executive counsel, state senate, county offices, if there is a website for candidate NH you can add it from this location. You can also get the local party organizations, the national party organizations, they have a wonderful array different Media outlooks, TV, radio, newspapers and also some of the other competing websites that provide information. Bite: Informed voter tape 2 12:15:49 One of those would be project vote smart which is a non-profit in Colorado which is seeking to gather information on every political candidate in the entire country. NOW THIS BASICALLY FOCUSES ON CANDIDATES HAVE ACTUALLY VOTED, DOESN'T IT? It does, Vote smart focuses on how candidates have actually voted, it also focuses on how they've responded to a sophisticated questionnaire, that asks them about their own opinions on a variety of issues. What's interesting about the questionnaire is they send the Questionnaire to all candidates around the country, and its been developed by people on both sides of the aisle, so project vote smart has a lot of credibility in that regard, and it gives you a real opportunity to compare and contrast candidates, because if you go to the websites of the candidates themselves, they clearly present themselves in the best possible light and their opponents maybe not in the best of light. Track: Though these tools have not been around for that long, they are already making a difference - and could provide the key to engaging younger voters. Bite: Informed voter tape 2 12:22:13 10-20 years ago I could not have pointed my students in such an effective way of getting such a wide variety of information, and once they tap into it, they get addicted. Once they realize they can become the masters in one sense of making judgements as opposed to being manipulated by what's being fed by campaigns, it's a certain sense of empowerment, and I see that they really get engaged with that, so I see that students becoming more engaged now than they were 20 years ago and there's no question these tools are making that difference. Track: For NH Outlook, I'm Richard Ager. Soundup; pick something from polling stations |
| Intro Discussion Return to index of stories... |
Joining us to discuss how the landscape for researching politics has changed Andy Smith of the UNH Survey Center and Dante Scala from the Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. |
| Discussion Return to index of stories... |
1: How much work is it to become a well-informed voter? 2: One point raised in the piece is that the way we get political information has changed - we get a huge volume of information - tv ads, newspapers, direct mail - even the thousands of lawn signs. But how good are those sources of information? 3: The 2000 presidential election in which very few votes were the margin of victory - do you anticipate a lasting effect in re-energizing voters in believing they should vote? 4: We saw the library at the Institute of Politics - no books, just the internet. What difference have you seen the internet make for voters? 5: It's been shown that most people don't hunt unless a parent teaches them. Do you think we face a similar phenomenon with political involvement - people not getting involved unless a parent is involved? 6: Most people know something about national leaders, but few know who their local officials or even state reps are. How do we address that problem? 7: Is the way we teach civics and government just too boring - does it alienate young people and keep them from becoming voters. 8: Are you optimistic that more voters will become informed and involved? Or pessimistic? |
| Infomed voter tag Return to index of stories... |
As Richard noted a bit earlier, a couple of good places to look for political information are politicsnh-dot-com and vote-smart-dot-org. |
| Intro Forum Discuss Return to index of stories... |
In New Hampshire, voters are accustomed to meeting candidates face to face. They consider themselves fully informed and involved. Tuesday night, the candidates appeared before members of the business community and students and faculty from the Whittemore School of Business and Economics. The NH Votes Economic Forums with the Candidates were held at the University of New Hampshire. We begin with highlights of the First Congressional District. |
| Discussion Return to index of stories... |
Now a look at the Gubernatiorial forum. We begin with a question from Ross Gittell of the Whittemore School of Business and Economics. |
| Tease Forums Return to index of stories... |
The NH Votes 2002 Economic Forums with the Candidates will air in their entirety beginning at 7 pm on October 8 with the Candidates from the first Congressional District. The following night, Wednesday October 9 at 7 pm you can see the hour long forum with the Gubernatorial Candidates. |
| Tomorrow Return to index of stories... |
On the next New Hampshire Outlook - Should cameras be allowed in the courtroom? That's one of the cases the State Supreme Court heard when it took its session on the road to Dover High School. We'll see the court in action and hear from principals in the case. |
| Goodnight Return to index of stories... |
That's it for this edition of our program. For all of us here at New Hampshire Public Television, I'm Ally McNair. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you next time on New Hampshire Outlook. |
| founders Return to index of stories... |
Thanks to our founding sponsors who have provided major funding for the production of New Hampshire Outlook: New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Public Service of New Hampshire Alice J. Reen Charitable Trust Putnam Foundation Stratford Foundation |
| Tonight 10:00 Return to index of stories... |
Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. Should cameras be allowed in the courtroom? That's one of the cases the State Supreme Court heard when it took its session on the road. We'll see the court in action and hear from principals in the case. Tonight at 10:00. |
| key: state politics / government Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 10/02/02 / 2200 HOST: Allison McNair Length: 5:18 In addition to a summary of the day's top New Hampshire stories, this edition of New Hampshire Outlook, NHPTV's nightly news magazine, included a report on how the average citizen can sort out which candidate to vote for. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Richard Ager NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Elizabeth Ossoff\NH Institute of Politics Dr. Dale Kuehne\NH Institute of Politics |
| key: state politics / government Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 10/02/02 / 2200 HOST: Allison McNair Length: 12:00 In addition to a summary of the day's top New Hampshire stories, this edition of New Hampshire Outlook, NHPTV's nightly news magazine, included highlights of the First New hampshire Public Television, Congressional District, NH Votes Economic Forum. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Allison McNair NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Martha Fuller Clark\D - District 1 Congressional Nominee Jeb Bradley\R - District 1 Congressional Nominee Dan Belforti\L - District 1 Congressional Nominee |
| Wnd Monday at 10 Return to index of stories... |
On the next New Hampshire Outlook: Should cameras be allowed in the courtroom? That's one of the cases the State Supreme Court heard when it took its session on the road to a seacoast High School. We'll see the court in action and hear from principals in the case. Tonight at 10pm on New Hampshire Public Television. |
| WEB PROMO Return to index of stories... |
On the next New Hampshire Outlook: Should cameras be allowed in the courtroom? That's one of the cases the State Supreme Court heard when it took its session on the road to a seacoast High School. We'll see the court in action and hear from principals in the case. Tonight at 10pm on New Hampshire Public Television. |
| Intro Voters Voices Colebrook Return to index of stories... |
As a part of our continuing coverage of the election Chip Neal has been traveling around the state sampling the concerns of voters as election day approaches. In this visit Chip visited the far north country where people AND politicians are few and far between. |