Graham Media Group stations across the country are ramping up political coverage during the upcoming midterm elections. Affiliates are located in Michigan, Florida, Texas and Virginia.
“There’s so much focus on the White House, but governors and state legislators do much of the important public policy work in this country. It is our responsibility at the local level to cover local, state and federal elections actively and comprehensively across all platforms,” said Emily Barr, president and CEO, Graham Media Group.
Below is a list of stations participating in producing the increased coverage.
KPRC, Houston
· KPRC will partner with the League of Women Voters on Election Day for an all-day voter phone bank to field calls in English and Spanish from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
· Click2Houston has created an Election Day Voting Guide, special coverage section on the home page and AP Interactive Delegate Tracker and Election Maps.
· In-depth reporting and analysis in newscasts and webcasts.
WDIV, Detroit
· Will host a debate of the six Democratic candidates running to fill former U.S. Rep. John Conyers’ seat in Congress. The Democratic nominee will not face a Republican challenger in November’s general election.
· WDIV launched Your Soapbox, a citizen engagement project that delves into the policy, election and civility issues facing our community.
· 4 Minute Debates: Short head-to-head debates about ballot issues and policy.
· The station’s Sunday morning political talker Flashpoint will go into the primary election having hosted in-depth interviews with all three Democratic candidates and the four Republican candidates for governor, as well as the two Republicans vying to unseat Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow in November.
WKMG, Orlando, Fla.
· The station dedicated 10 episodes of its Sunday The Weekly program to a variety of races and candidates including Florida governor, U.S. congressional seats and local mayoral, sheriff and school chair races.
· WKMG will host two voter registration event days from 6 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. to help viewers register to vote.
· On ClickOrlando.com, an online voter’s guide was created and regularly updated with new sample ballots, registration information for voters.
KSAT, San Antonio
· San Antonio is a hot spot for the border immigration battle and KSAT is tracking the political ramifications of the border story and how it plays into the election.
· The station is utilizing CNN RunningMate for additional coverage of races and political hot topics.
WJXT, Jacksonville, Fla.
· WJXT is hosting a Republican debate on Aug. 8 and Democratic forum for the gubernatorial primary races on Aug. 9 in partnership with Jacksonville University.
· On This Week in Jacksonville, WJXT has been interviewing candidates in the statewide races for governor and attorney general.
· News4Jax.com is compiling a special voters guide section complete with a candidates’ questionnaire on virtually every state and local office in the DMA.
· WJXT is producing a one-hour election special the night before the general election in November.
WSLS, Roanoke, Va.
· Livestreamed the highly contested U.S. Senate race between the incumbent and former vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine and Republican challenger Corey Steward. On Sept. 26, WSLS will air and stream the Chuck Todd moderated debate between former vice presidential candidate candidate Tim Kaine and Republican challenger Corey Stewards.
· WSLS.com is producing a special 2018 election page. This page will contain information on all races, candidate bios and voter information to assist viewers with getting to the polls.