An Unexpected Low for a Battleground State

     Fairfax Times reported the reasons for why Virginia went blue this election, something that hasn't been seen in forty years.  Fairfax county reported nearly eighty percent turnout for registered voters, which to many counties may seem pretty high.  There were an abnormal amount of younger voters that turned up, accounting for a major reason the state turned democrat this election.  Approximately seventeen percent of the votes came from absentee ballots and even more came from college students driving back to the county from school.  Yet, the Fairfax Times stated that many voters were, "pleasantly surprised at their wait times."  Simply put, more people were expected to vote than actually did.

     From the discussion in class, I thought it was rather interesting that the Fairfax Times noted that voting, in that county, didn't add up to what the media expected it to be.  What role did the media play in elections this week, for fairfax county?  Why is it that an overwhelming amount of young voters turned out instead of an overwhelming amount of elder voters?  I know Obama is deemed as a very good orator, but I don't think that his speeches are what drove these masses.  In my opinion, it was a result of the role that the press has always played in american politics.  There was a clear push from journalists for their own political persuasions.  The stories covered clearly catered more towards the left.  Does it seem right to give the media so much power, to the extent of persuading the public on who to vote for?  I feel that it is good to have this political aspect of the news, but we may have seen it step its boundaries this year.

Online and Print's Relationship is Complicated

     By this point, it's pretty obvious that the online news industry is going to beat out the print industry in popularity and use.  However, does that mean that the print is going to sink all together?  The Washington Post doesn't seem to be having the same problems as every other newspaper, with cutbacks and frequent buyouts.  In fact, they are having the opposite effect, with "staff members...expanding to fill every nook and cranny."  This newspaper has seemingly found a way to thrive in these uncertain times.  What is their secret?  Well, there are multiple reasons as to their success, but much if it has to do with the way they us the internet to their advantage.  They have built up enough revenue from their online operations as to support their print efforts.  Another reason has to do with their ability to cover both national and local stories, pulling in all types of readers from all over.  Their success is really something to talk about.   

     If the Post can do it, can't other papers do something similar?  Of course, every paper is unique with their troubles and covered material, but there is hope.  In my opinion, it shows that news companies shouldn't shy away from print yet, or turn too quickly to internet based operations.  I think we should still look towards the online features to supplement print, rather than turning all our attention to the internet so quickly.

Voter Turnouts As Expected

     With huge early voter turnouts this year, many people wondered if the polling places could even handle it.  Yet, as the early voting numbers are to account for about 30% of the total turnout for this election, I can't help but wonder how much of it is due to the news.  Certainly, voter turnout wouldn't be nearly as high as expected if the media had not been pushing it for the entire past year.  Obviously, it is a very controversial election year and that the news companies are giving the american people what they want.  However, a large portion of their coverage and broadcasting has to do with their own agendas.  How much can we attribute the increased participation in this years election to journalists?  And is that their role?

     I think that journalists have been doing a fairly good job of fulfilling their role as informing the public and would even venture to say that they are fulfilling their role in getting the people out to vote.  Isn't helping citizens perform their duty one way to serve the public interests?   With all the more intensive coverage that we're going to see over the next week I think it will only show how influential the media really is.

Local News Informing the Public

   As an absentee ballot voter, I took interest to some of the controversy that is going on right now in my home county.  Apparently, the recently appointed registrar for Fairfax County has been accused of suppressing certain group's absentee votes.  Specifically it is the armed forces that are directly affected by this, but some issues have rolled over to civilians.  Most of the contention is due to inadequately filled out ballots as well as improperly filled out envelopes.  It makes me wonder what is happening to my vote and if virginia's votes are being counted accurately.  If anyone has the right to vote, then how come their votes are being voided because of technicalities?  Since virginia is a key state this election, it certain will have an impact.

     This is certainly an issue that only the community papers could have picked up this early in the elections.  The media's address of this issue will help it to be resolved before Nov. 4th, in my opinion.  What would we do without the small time papers?  Yeah, a lot of stuff is not particularly interesting, but it all makes it worth while for those few stories that they pick up, when other papers simply don't care.