As the nation prepares to cast ballots in November, individuals and communities are discussing the decisions they will make, the perspectives they have formed and the information that is shaping those perspectives. But there are few places online where people can have these conversations in civil, transparent and productive ways. Individuals need a place where they can share credible information and their firsthand experience and engage with other members of their community to discuss and better understand the issues.
It's your Civic Commons, so you get to start the conversation you think is important.
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The Project
The Civic Commons will partner with community publishers around Ohio to connect readers to a series of moderated, facilitated engagement opportunities on the issues that are bubbling up in our communities. This will be an experimental series of moderated civil conversations for undecided voters and engaged citizens. Partner media outlets will have the chance to participate in dialogues and engage their readers and others on the issues shaping the outcomes in our swing state.
Media partners include:
As part of the project, we're helping The News Outlet recruit undecided voters to profile.
TheNewsOutlet.org wants to talk to you
So, who’s it going to be?
Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama?
Roseanne Barr? (The actress and candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party.)
If you’re not sure, then we’d like to talk to you.
TheNewsOutlet is looking for people who will openly share their political and personal thoughts in the weeks leading up to the presidential election in November.
We’d like to talk with people who are still making up their minds. We’d need to spend time with you soon and then check back in on a regular basis as the election draws near. We’ll want you to be candid and to share your reactions to political ads, to what’s happening in the economy, your neighborhood, your family and your home.
What you share with us will likely be published or broadcast by one of our media partners: The Vindicator, WYSU-FM, The Akron Beacon Journal, Rubber City radio and others. We’ll want to take your picture and even capture you on video.
What’s in it for you?
A chance to engage in your community and an opportunity to share your views and thoughts with others.
How do I volunteer?
If you are interested please tell us about yourself in less than 100 words. What do you do and where do you live? What issues are most important to you? What are you looking for in the next president?
Please email your thoughts and your contact information to ajlenhoff@ysu.edu or dlivingston@thenewsoutlet.org or call Alyssa Lenhoff at 330-402-1016 or Doug Livingston at 330-719-1756.
TheNewsOutlet.org is a collaborative effort between the Youngstown State University journalism program, Kent State University, The University of Akron and professional media outlets including, WYSU-FM Radio and The Vindicator (Youngstown), The Beacon Journal and Rubber City Radio (Akron).
Swing State News
Ex-NPR Hill reporter: Lied to daily - Patrick Gavin
August 31, 2012 http://www.politico.com
After 14 years at National Public Radio, Andrea Seabrook left in July and, to hear her talk about her experience covering Capitol Hill, it’s clear that she had one takeaway: It’s damn frustrating. “I realized that there is a part of covering Congress, if you’re doing daily coverage, that is actually sort of colluding with the...
Fear of a Black President
August 31, 2012 http://www.theatlantic.com
The irony of President Barack Obama is best captured in his comments on the death of Trayvon Martin, and the ensuing fray. Obama has pitched his presidency as a monument to moderation. He peppers his speeches with nods to ideas originally held by conservatives. He routinely cites Ronald Reagan.
Mitt Romney's Tax Mysteries: A Reading Guide
August 31, 2012 http://www.propublica.org
Romney has released his 2010 tax return, and an estimate of his 2011 return. (He filed for an extension this year and has said he'll release the full returns when they are finished. The deadline is Oct. 15).
Jack Torry: With each election cycle, lies in political ads grow bolder, sink lower
August 13, 2012 http://www.dispatch.com
Imagine the outrage if Chrysler aired a commercial declaring that if you drive a Toyota, you will die. Or Budweiser claiming that drinking Coors Light will give you hives. Yet President Barack Obama, Republican nominee Mitt Romney and their allies have been bombarding Ohio with millions of dollars of TV commercials that do not even come close to telling voters the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Paul Ryan's Influence on the G.O.P.
August 13, 2012 http://www.newyorker.com
One day in March, 2009, two months after the Inauguration of President Obama, Representative Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin, sat behind a small table in a cramped meeting space in his Capitol Hill office. Hunched forward in his chair, he rattled off well-rehearsed critiques of the new President's policies and America's lurch toward a "European" style of government.
USAT/Gallup Poll: Paul Ryan gets low marks for VP
August 13, 2012 http://content.usatoday.com
Americans don't believe Mitt Romney hit a home run with his choice of Paul Ryan as a running mate, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, with more of the public giving him lower marks than high ones. Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, is seen as only a "fair" or "poor" choice by 42% of Americans vs.
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