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The remarkable increases in funds raised to support national and local political races, and the potential influence of this money on the political process, was the catalyst for RTNDF to launch the Political Coverage Project. This project provides resources for political reporters to cover elections in creative and innovative ways and, long after the votes are counted, to continue to cover the impact of political money on policy-making efforts of their local and national elected officials.
Since the Watergate era, journalists have developed new styles of covering politics. Reporters are increasingly filing stories with the underlying premise “the public has the right to know.” The results of this coverage have been mixed. While on the one hand stories are increasingly devoted to such issues as the influence of campaign contributions to post-election policy decisions, there is an equal or greater amount of air time devoted to easier stories such as scandals involving candidates’ sex lives or other private matters.
Many reporters, producers and news directors seem to want to air stories that get beyond the traditional election “horse race” coverage, but adequate training has not kept pace for reporters wanting further expertise on covering money’s influence on political advertising. The Political Coverage Project seeks to address that need through training and resources for political reporters.
The project was launched at the beginning of the 1996 presidential election. Since that launch, RTNDF has sponsored dozens of national and regional workshops, satellite briefings, written and online resources, including several Web pages dedicated to political reporting.
Experienced political reporters and producers have been tapped as workshop experts and panelists and authors of the project’s publications. These same seasoned reporters now serve as the project’s Advisory Council to help keep campaign finance reporting on the radar screens of news directors and political reporters.
The Radio and Television News Directors Foundation promotes excellence in electronic journalism through research, education and training for news professionals and journalism students. RTNDF is a 501(c)(3) organization, supported entirely by charitable contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations.