Take a close look at the map above. It represents something remarkable: The coordinated effort of more than 60 Colorado newsrooms to ask voters in their communities what issues matter most to them this election year.
And not just to ask. But also to listen. To let voter voices help guide election coverage and hold candidates accountable for responding to citizens’ priorities.
Some of our state’s newsrooms have done this kind of voter-centered election coverage in past elections. But never have Colorado newsrooms done so together, by the dozens, in all parts of the state, using the same survey in an attempt to capture both local and statewide concerns.
The Voter Voices 2024 survey begins with a simple, powerful question: What do you want candidates to talk about as they compete for your vote?
“You” is the operative word in that sentence. What matters to you, Colorado voter?
The asking of that question represents an acknowledgement by newsrooms that voters want to be heard through the clamor and clang of the campaign.
As of Tuesday, just three weeks after newsrooms began launching the survey and months before it closes, more than 3,100 Coloradans had responded.
That, too, is remarkable.
Voter Voices is the most ambitious collaborative project COLab has led since its founding four years ago. Call it a grand experiment in what election coverage can be. With 60 newsrooms on board, it’s already testament to the commitment of local news editors, publishers and owners to expand how they listen and respond to their communities in an election year.
COLab’s role here has been to recruit, onboard and support participating newsrooms, but we do this work alongside our key partners at Colorado Public Radio, which has run a Voter Voices survey in past election years. CPR’s survey was the starting point for this year’s version, which incorporates feedback from rural and suburban editors, communities of color and conservative Coloradans. CPR’s Megan Verlee, Stephanie Rivera, and Daniel J. Schneider have brought to the table experience, technical knowhow, an involved newsroom and the spirit of cooperation that a project of this size and scope requires.
Here’s how Megan described Voter Voices in a recent message to the station’s listeners:
“The [news] organizations participating in Voter Voices are large and small, urban, suburban and rural. Many of us are long standing-competitors, whose reporters compete every day for audience and stories. But at this moment, when the political landscape is as divided as it’s ever been and finding common ground is increasingly rare, all of us are committed to working together to ensure that the concerns of Coloradans, not the talking points of politicians, drive our election coverage.”
COLab and CPR will be providing newsrooms with stories based on overall statewide responses to the survey. But each newsroom can look at their own individual responses, report their communities’ priorities and, empowered and informed by what voters are saying, ask candidates what their plans are to address those priorities.
That’s exactly what Regan Tuttle, the owner/editor/powerhouse of the San Miguel Basin Forum in far western Colorado, plans to do. Regan covers communities such as Nucla, Naturita and Norwood. We did not have to recruit her to join. She just answered the call.
Yesterday, I asked her why.
She said that residents of the remote, rural communities she covers “tend to feel that nobody listens.”
The survey gives them a chance “to speak and feel heard,” not just by Regan, but at the state level.
“I will definitely use the survey results, especially when interviewing county commissioner candidates,” she said. “Honestly, it encourages me to reach out to state candidates, too — something I’ve never done — and ask them how they plan to address my readership’s concerns on the Western Slope.”
And that’s what makes this whole project so full of potential and so exciting.
You can go to our website to find a list of all participating newsrooms. Click on your local newsroom and you’ll be redirected to its survey.
If you don’t see your news outlet, feel free to take the survey on our site. We want Coloradans of all backgrounds, experiences and perspectives to respond. The survey is not scientific, but we do want it to be representative.
Finally, take another look at that map above. It represents something else: tangible results of your support for COLab. Your contributions go directly toward implementing and sustaining projects like Voter Voices. You make it possible for our tiny team to dedicate the staff time needed to fulfill our mission of helping local newsrooms do all they can to better serve their communities.
This year, your dollars plant the seeds for election coverage that grows from the ground up. We’re eager to see what blooms.
This post was sent as a letter to our email subscribers on Thursdsay, April. 25, 2024. Join our email list to learn more about COLab and the work we are doing.
