COMM 150: Read for Monday's F2F in-class discussion!

With the election coming up Tuesday, we're taking some things out of order ... the pre-election coverage illustrates too many principles we ought to be aware of and, as usual, the world refuses to consult with me before doing stuff that we won't read about until later in Vivian's "Media of Mass Communication." Bummer.

But one we've got to deal with.

Please notice hints in red type below. But red type isn't a bummer. Right?

Last week, we were discussing campaign ads - especially the negative ones, since that's about all you see in the last days before an election - and their effect on voters, especially voters of your generation. You're turned off, you say in your comments to the blog, by all the negativity shown by people who say they want to be our leaders but certainly don't act like leaders.

Rich Miller, publisher of the Capitol Fax newsletter and blog, says in his print newspaper column picked up by Illinois Times and other papers statewide, it's turning off the politicians, too. His column is headlined "After the bloodbath, who will pull us together?" His answer: Maybe nobody will.

Among other things, Miller says this year's election cycle of partisan politics and attack ads are making it harder for state legislators to work together. He adds:

... All of this couldn’t come at a worse possible time, of course. The state’s budget deficit is practically insurmountable. Unemployment remains stubbornly and scarily high. People are angry and frightened because nobody can point to any light at the end of this tunnel.

Somehow, some way, the people who lead this state are going to have to find it in them to pull everyone together and address these issues after this bloody fall campaign. But right now all of them are doing everything possible to undermine any sort of resolution.

A similar point is made by a well-researched, balanced backgrounder in the St. Louis Beacon, an online news magazine written and published by veteran journalists in that city. It covers Illinois state politics as well as St. Louis metro and Missouri government.

The Beacon story is by Mary Delach Leonard. (There's more on her below, because she's had an interesting career as a political reporter.) Its headline "Are Illinois voters too turned off by corruption to vote?" tells it all. Leonard quotes Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform:

Canary is concerned when she hears voters saying in interviews that they are turning down the volume of their radios and televisions and not listening to the advertising.

"The truth of the matter is that voters who take their responsibility seriously have to choose between one or the other screaming, angry candidate," Canary said. "And it's particularly disheartening coming on the heels of [former Gov. and convicted felon Rod] Blagojevich when my hope would be that we would be talking about leadership. We should be talking about public responsibility to the citizens and the electorate and we should be talking about the very serious problems that we have."

Canary worries that the negative tone of the campaigns will further suppress voter turnout, which tends to be low in midterm elections anyway.

"I think it's very hard not to be cynical in this kind of environment," she said.

Some questions: What can the media do to change this kind of environment? What should they do? How can they balance that with their need to make a buck? You've seen the questions before. You'll see them again. You may even see them on your final exam. Hint hint. Things like Leonard's article and the St. Louis Beacon may be part of the answer.

Leonard was a reporter and features editor for the St. Louis Post Dispatch for 17 years before joining the St. Louis Beacon in 2008. The Beacon is an non-profit, online publication that is, according to its "About" page, "dedicated to news that matters for people in our region. ... Founded by veteran journalists, the Beacon aims to serve and engage citizens by offering a distinctive new news medium. Join in this effort by sharing your experience, insight and suggestions. Together, we can build a Beacon that illuminates our region and shines outward to the world." Surf around the website and see what its funding sources are. Some of the pundits think not-for-profit publications are the wave of the future, at least for news and public affairs content. Others think they're deadly dull and timid, lest they say something that offends their funders. What do you think?

Reminder: State and congressional elections are coming up Tuesday, Nov. 2. Remember, if you don't vote, you lose your right to &#+%^ about politics.