FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT:

October 15, 2010 (WNYC) Jennifer Houlihan (646) 829-

4497
jhoulihan@nypublicradio.org
(Capital) Risa Heller 917-647-9187

CAPITAL AND WNYC ANNOUNCE “THE NEW YORK

VOTE” – AN ELECTION-COVERAGE
PARTNERSHIP
Project Consists of Five Installments Featuring an In-Depth Article
by a Capital Reporter, with Accompanying Video Shot by WNYC
Stories Will Illustrate the Mood of the Local Voters as Interpreted
by People With Meaningful Roles in the Election
All Content to be Hosted on www.WNYC.org/ItsAFreeCountry
October 15, 2010 – Capital New York, an online publication about politics,
media and culture, and WNYC, the nation’s most listened-to news and talk
public radio station, have launched a new content partnership – The New
York Vote—that combines Capital’s web-native political coverage with
WNYC’s radio and online expertise. The New York Vote aims to explain the
dynamics of the midterm elections in New York in a way that is distinct,
useful and attractive.

The 2010 races—starting with an increasingly bizarre gubernatorial contest--

have kept pollsters, strategists, organizers, party bosses and the media
guessing about what is motivating the electorate, and who will turn out to
vote. While nationally, voters appear poised to vote for candidates
promising a drastic change in the direction of the country, no clear pattern
emerges in New York: some promising insurgent candidates went nowhere
in the primaries while marginal ones have taken center stage. The national
anti-incumbent mood seems to be showing up in a spotty fashion in New
York - no larger narrative of the 2010 election seems to fit.

The New York Vote aims to discover the overarching New York story by
telling the smaller ones. The series will illuminate the mood and motivation
of the local electorate by looking at the emerging themes of the season: how
issues such as education and taxes are breaking down across
neighborhoods, clans, and lines of political influence; where establishment
connections have hurt a candidate, and where they've saved the day; where
dirty campaigns are working and where they are backfiring; where character
matters, and where other factors outweigh it.
The interviews, conducted by Capital reporters, will feature a cast of
characters who represent various strands of this year’s fractured political
scene: the elected official, the union executive, the party chair, the pollster,
the minister.

"We're thrilled to have the depth, perspective and voice of the Capital New
York team woven into our election coverage this year," said John Keefe,
WNYC senior executive producer for news. "Each story in this series will add
depth and richness to WNYC's political coverage online and on the air."

“This is a particularly bad year for conventional wisdom and cookie-cutter

story-telling,” said Capital co-founder Josh Benson. “The New York Vote is
an opportunity for us to focus on the kinds of stories that don’t often get told
during an election.”
“This partnership with WNYC speaks to one of the reasons we created Capital
– to provide in depth, original, incisive reporting on topics that might not get
the resources and attention otherwise,” said Tom McGeveran, a co-founder
of Capital.

All content for The New York Vote will be hosted online at WNYC’s new
political website, www.wnyc.org/itsafreecountry. The first installment gets
the perspective of Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long, who has
changed candidates and his message in response to the surge of voter anger
this year. The story is available at http://beta.wnyc.org/articles/new-york-
vote/2010/oct/15/age-tea-party-who-are-new-york-conservatives/

###

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