SeattlePI.com creates 94-candidate voter guide with half the staff
NEW YORK, NEW YORK (August 28, 2003). e-thePeople's Voter Guide Toolkit (VGT) helps newspapers harness the information gathering power of the internet to make election coverage easier. SeattlePI.com, the online division of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Seattle League of Women Voters used VGT to dramatically reduce the amount of work required to create and publish their Fall 2003 voter guide.
Web-based VGT lets newspapers collect data on candidates electronically—shifting data entry to candidates and away from reporters—and present that information in an online voter guide or in print. Created in just three weeks, the SeattlePI.com guide contains biographies, qualifications, endorsements, Web site and email addresses for 94 candidates in 25 races. It also includes positions on key campaign issues that may not receive adequate attention in daily coverage. Visit the guide at:
http://www.vgt2004.org/a-seattlepi/
"VGT allowed us to launch our voter's guide on time, despite an unexpected cutback from two staff members working on it, to one," said Lee Rozen, general manager of SeattlePI.com. "The Toolkit's flexibility allowed us to make revisions to nearly any aspect of our Voter's Guide without having to understand its code."
"Every election of a public official is important to the citizens they represent. Even in what are commonly known as 'off year' elections we still elect dozens of officeholders in Washington State," said Nancy Eitreim, President of the Seattle League of Women Voters. "More and more voters are relying upon the internet for election information. Candidates know this, which is why we had 100% participation rate in this year's guide."
"By letting SeattlePI.com and the League decide what races to cover and which questions to ask, VGT created a guide focused on the issues and campaigns important to Seattle voters," said Mike Weiksner, Chairman of e-thePeople.org. "Our system allows newspapers and civic organizations to create local content that isn't available anywhere else."
e-thePeople estimates it will launch a dozen sites this fall, including sites for the Orange County Register, Cincinnati Enquirer and Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. It is actively seeking newspapers, television and radio stations interested in covering this election.
This is the second year that e-thePeople has provided online voter guides. In 2002 their Voter411 was used by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Philadelphia Inquirer and Rochester Democrat and Chronicle to reach more than 21,000 voters and generate more than 150,000 page views.
Media organizations interested in using Voter Guide Toolkit can contact:
Scott Reents
President
aguy@e-thepeople.org
646-536-9305
More information:
SeattlePI.com, the award-winning Web site of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, part of The Hearst Corp., showcases around-the-clock news updates, reader forums, extensive photo galleries, a Seattle Mariners report written in Japanese and many other online extras. For more, visit:
http://seattlepi.com
The League of Women Voters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that has been working for over 80 years to promote the informed and active participation of citizens in the election process. For more, visit:
http://seattle.wa.lwv.org/
e-thePeople.org is an Internet-based forum for deliberative discussion and political action. e-thePeople.org operates its "electronic town halls" in partnership with hundreds of local media outlets, including the New York Daily News, the Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News and the Chicago Sun-Times. For more, visit:
e-thePeople.org
http://e-thePeople.org/about
