There's no question that Florida voters are angry. They harbor strong feelings of dissatisfaction and an overall lack of confidence in the political system.
Many Floridians feel their everyday problems are not welcomed in political dialogue.
One solution is to listen to the everyday citizen. Take their concerns to the candidates.
That's the aim of The Voices of Florida Project, a coalition of Florida Public Radio stations, six newspapers and 11 television stations. The group's political coverage will focus on the voters' problems rather than the candidates' rhetoric.
More on the Voices of Florida Project from reporter Bobbie O'Brien.
Many of the students in the 6th grade Spanish class at Tampa's Madison Middle School will be old enough to vote in the presidential election next time around, in the year 2000.
Their teacher, Larry Lubiner, is an active voter in search of something of more substance from the candidates and the media.
"Lately, there's been a lot more mudslinging in campaigns. I think we're sick of it, really. I know I am."There are many Floridians like Lubiner who see the whole political process as an elaborate waltz with the candidates and the media as partners, dancing in step to tunes provided by lobbyists and pundits.
What concerns Lubiner is the sameness of that political beat.
"When I read the newspaper and I watch TV and I hear the radio, I see, hear and watch the same thing. I would like to see different things, I would like to hear and watch different things. I'd like to hear more opinions from the community. I'd like to hear more of a community voice from the media. I think that there are a lot of people out there who can express themselves very well."While the collaboration of newspapers, radio and television stations in the Voices of Florida project may seem to support Lubiner's concern, really it's just the opposite. By pooling resources on some stories, the partners increase opportunities for independent news coverage.
The St. Petersburg Times and the Miami Herald political editors co-wrote the Voices of Florida poll story for publication this weekend. The Times political editor is Howard Troxler.
"There is still room for diversity among the newspapers. I don't think it's healthy, I don't think it would be good for Florida, if all or most of the newspapers all started writing exactly the same thing. They are running some of the same articles about what these issues are, but then individually they'll continue to cover the campaigns and the politicians, and have their own columnists and commentary and reporting, in a diverse way. The goal is to have the best of both worlds: to have the combined resources and clout of all these media organizations, when it does good, but not to lose the diversity and different points of view."The Voices project has energized Troxler, who has uncovered an underlying current of optimism among Florida voters.
"One thing that's really reassuring to me, about spending so much time talking to so many people, is that they are much better informed than they get credit for in the mass media, in a lot of elite circles. They are much better informed, they have a pretty good sense of what's going on in the political system, and a pretty good sense of what they would like to see done to change it."That change has to include how media covers politics. Troxler cautions it has to include more than a few polls and stories about citizens' issues.
"Distrust of the media is nationwide, and it is a lot deeper than the media realize. They still don't get just how deepseated and in many cases just how justified the ill-will of voters towards the media is."The media is high on the blame list of language teacher Larry Lubiner. But he also lays equal fault at the feet of the average citizen -- for inaction.
"It's been there since the Bill of Rights. We have the power to change things. We have the power to move the communities. We have the power to move mountains, but we're just not using that power. It's a topic that I am very passionate about because I see people complain and complain, and moan, and complain, and then they do nothing."A Voices of Florida poll detailing a multitude of voter attitudes will hit the airwaves and printing presses this weekend.
I'm Bobbie O'Brien reporting.
