Dear community members,
It might seem too early to think about the upcoming election, but the June Primary is only a few months away. Some members of the VPM News team are very gung-ho about covering every aspect of political campaigns and elections. But sometimes, getting so in the weeds about political nuances distracts from the important issues talked about at kitchen tables.
This year, our staff wants to do something different from other media coverage of Virginia’s elections. VPM News wants to hear from you: What do you want candidates to talk about as they compete for votes?
VPM News will launch the People’s Agenda Election Survey from April 11 to May 13, 2022. This is similar to a project our staff did in 2020 called the Citizens Agenda. What makes this different from our previously project is we will focus our coverage on two specific U.S. House of Representatives races in Virginia: District 5 and District 7. Voting maps changed in the past year after the latest U.S. census, and these two districts look very different now compared to just a few years ago. The current incumbents, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D – District 7) and Rep. Bob Good (R – District 5), are also candidates the VPM newsroom has historically reported on.
This survey will help the VPM News team determine what topics to focus on during the election season. We plan to release preliminary findings on what questions the community is asking a few weeks into the survey. People will then be able to vote on which questions resonate most with their thoughts and concerns, to make sure we are on track with understanding the community’s needs.
Over the summer, VPM News is also planning to host meetings to gather more input and update the agenda before the 2022 November election. Questions and topics raised may also be posed directly to candidates when reporters are asking questions for their stories or during debates.
If you have any questions before taking the survey, don’t be shy. We’re here to listen. Email us at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Elliott Robinson, VPM News Director
Sara McCloskey, VPM Newscast Editor & Internship Coordinator