Alaska Beacon aims to inform voters this year by asking candidates what Alaskans want to know

A sign directs voters to the polling site set up on Nov. 8, 2022, in the YMCA in Midtown Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

When the Alaska Beacon launched two years ago, its staff focused campaign coverage on the concerns that Alaskans wanted to hear candidates talk about.

That began with the candidate questionnaires we sent to more than 200 people running in the primaries for state or federal office in 2022. Most candidates responded to the questionnaires, giving a clearer picture of where they stood. 

The Beacon staff is again planning to provide voters with a chance to learn where candidates stand. The questions we aim to explore aren’t driven by what will benefit one party or another, nor will they be aimed at putting any set of candidates in a positive or negative light. 

What we will aim to do is give Alaskans a clearer sense when they fill out their primary ballots in August of who the candidates are and what they say they’ll do should they be elected. While we’ll also cover issues like how much candidates are raising and spending, our central goal is to convey what is at stake for Alaska in the election. 

We draw inspiration from an approach championed by New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen, who encourages the news media to engage with the public in covering campaigns. Rather than relentlessly focusing on who is winning the horse race, Rosen wants reporters to base their coverage on a different question — a question the Alaska Beacon staff poses to readers: 

What do you want the candidates to be discussing as they compete for votes?

You can share your answer to that question by emailing info@alaskabeacon.com. 

The Beacon staff plans to develop a set of questions on May 22 that it will be sending to those running for the U.S. House and the Alaska Legislature after the candidate filing deadline in early June. 

So the Beacon would love to hear your answers to the above question by the morning of May 22. But we also want to know your answers to this question after May 22, and to know how your questions may change over the course of the campaign season.

Your questions won’t just inform which questions we include in the candidate questionnaires. They’ll inform the Alaska Beacon’s campaign coverage through Election Day, on Nov. 5, and beyond as we cover policy and politics in the coming years. 

In 2022, these audience questions informed the Beacon staff’s decision to ask the governor candidates about their positions on child care access and housing costs. These weren’t necessarily the issues candidates were highlighting in their campaign ads, but they were the ones affecting Alaskans in their daily lives. 

The Beacon aims to have at least one article between the primary and general elections in each competitive legislative race. It’s a large undertaking, and you and other Beacon readers can make it easier by sharing their thoughts with the staff. 

Beacon news coverage is driven by no special interest, only the public interest. Understanding what Alaskans want to know about the policies that affect their lives is central to the staff’s work. So please join an ongoing conversation with the Beacon about how its staff can best inform your votes this year. 

Please contact info@alaskabeacon.com with any questions.

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