Author Archive
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Swing States Project
Closer look at a cash cow
November 26, 2012 07:00 AMCOLORADO — Barack Obama wasn’t the only winner in the 2012 campaign here. The state’s TV stations—especially those in Denver, the dominant media market—did pretty well, too. Political groups spent roughly $86 million on election ads in this battleground state,... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
In Colorado, $716 billion claim lives on
November 6, 2012 06:50 AMCOLORADO — On Saturday, at his last and largest 2012 campaign rally here, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney told the crowd that President Obama took $716 billion from Medicare to fund his Affordable Care Act. “He raided $716 billion from... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
Covering the search for noncitizen voters
October 22, 2012 04:45 PMCOLORADO — A young Associated Press reporter has won accolades for staying on the story of the search for noncitizen voters in Colorado—a search spearheaded by Secretary of State Scott Gessler whose 2011 estimate of 11,805 potential noncitizens on state... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
When factchecking goes ‘gray’
October 17, 2012 06:50 AMCOLORADO — Denver’s two dominant media outlets—The Denver Post and 9NEWS KUSA television—recently conducted factchecks on a 6th Congressional District campaign ad in which incumbent Rep. Mike Coffman accuses Democratic challenger Joe Miklosi of... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
Denver Post ducks the $716 billion question
October 11, 2012 03:20 PMCOLORADO — Political reporting has become an even tougher job, as journalists face demands both to report the news faster than ever and to do more to hold politicians accountable for their rhetoric. As Justin Peters wrote recently... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
CU students probe Denver ad buy records
September 21, 2012 07:00 AMCOLORADO — Students from the University of Colorado are among the first journalists in this state to mine data from the political advertising contracts that many stations must now post online, under a Federal Communications Commission mandate issued earlier this... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
Assignment desk: The authoritative take
August 14, 2012 03:00 PM
on Colorado’s controversial secretary of stateCOLORADO — The framing of a late July story from NBC News was striking: Scott Gessler, the no-name secretary of state from Colorado, is poised to become the Katherine Harris of the 2012 election. The analogy should be... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
Follow-the-money stories Colorado reporters should do
July 25, 2012 03:15 PMCOLORADO — Back-to-back disasters—massive wildfires, followed by Friday morning’s horrific movie-theater massacre outside of Denver—have rocked newsrooms here, including that of the state’s flagship newspaper, the Denver Post. The Post has done a laudable job (on multiple platforms) of covering... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
On outsourcing, Colorado media mostly disappoint
July 18, 2012 11:31 AMCOLORADO — This state became the center of the battle over outsourcing last week, when Mitt Romney, responding to charges from the Obama campaign about his role at Bain Capital, launched his counter-attack at a July 10 campaign stop in... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
In Colorado Springs, inconsistent coverage of a colorful campaign
June 22, 2012 07:43 AMCOLORADO — One of the most colorful and competitive GOP primary battles is being waged in the conservative bastion of Colorado Springs, and the contest has produced some interesting—if not always excellent—coverage from the local media. The June 26 primary... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
When a ‘birther’ story comes knocking
May 25, 2012 02:50 PMCOLORADO — The so-called “birther” movement has emerged from hibernation, leaving media outlets this spring to figure out how best to handle the foul beast: starve it, feed it, or something in between? Reporters in the Denver area... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
What’s the swingiest state of them all?
May 22, 2012 03:00 PMCOLORADO — The term “swing state” is bandied about constantly in an election year, often without a clear explanation of what it means. But two recent articles in the national press offer a way to understand the term—and both suggest... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
A (blurry) snapshot of influence peddling
May 9, 2012 11:15 AMCOLORADO—A CBS News undercover video of a Republican fundraiser earlier this year gave viewers a tantalizing glimpse of a $10,000-a-head political shindig at one of the most exclusive resorts in the country. The sometimes-grainy footage showed a dozen... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
In Colorado, Campaign Fundraising Stories Half-Told
April 24, 2012 03:22 PMCOLORADO—The first rule of reporting is to be skeptical, or—maybe you’ve heard this one before?—if your mother says she loves you, check it out. And checking it out is particularly essential in political reporting. Two news organizations here in Denver... Continue reading
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The Kicker
Super PACs at the State Level: A Different Story
April 16, 2012 06:00 AMSpending by super PACs and other independent groups in 2012 federal races is readily available at websites like OpenSecrets.org and the Sunlight Foundation’s “Follow the Unlimited Money” page. (For more on how to track that spending, see... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
The Top Campaign Finance Tools for Local News Sites
April 16, 2012 06:00 AMCOLORADO — In my post last week on the emerging network of watchdog sites that document the role of money in politics, I suggested that many small and mid-sized media outlets, like local newspapers and TV stations, are... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
Where to Turn When Tackling Money-in-Politics Stories
April 10, 2012 04:46 PMCOLORADO—Edwin Bender knows the value of a good follow-the-money story. Bender is the executive director of the National Institute on Money in State Politics and its website, named—appropriately enough—Followthemoney.org. He’s also someone with a particular interest in prison-privatization... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
Tracking Campaign Cash in Colorado
March 16, 2012 12:49 PMCOLORADO — As the campaign finance landscape shifts, and more cash from more sources flows into politics at every level, it becomes more important than ever that reporters follow the money. That’s just what Denver Post reporter Karen Crummy did... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
It’s Caucus Day in Colorado: Where’s the Content?
February 7, 2012 10:46 PMCOLORADO — It’s caucus day here in Colorado, and recent campaign coverage from the state’s largest paper has been disappointingly content-free. And it’s not for lack of potential content. The Republican Party is chomping at the bit to reclaim... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
The Colorado Columnist on the Bus
January 25, 2012 01:15 PMCOLORADO — The Denver Post’s decision to send just one writer, Mike Littwin, to cover the New Hampshire GOP presidential primary might have raised many eyebrows in the past. Littwin is a liberal, and a fairly flaming one at that.... Continue reading
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