Looking for information on local races

Every four years, the media is consumed with presidential candidates. However, Americans get little to no coverage on local elections.

Many Nevadans, especially those closer to the millennial generation, do not engage in local media platforms that showcase candidates for state senate or assemblymen, yet these positions are on the ballot every election.

“Local races, I think, need to be covered a little more,” said Kit Carson, a lobbyist in the upcoming legislative session. “I’m informed because I have to be informed. I think the average person just gets bombarded with the stuff at the door.”

Carson said he researches the candidates on Nevada’s ballots and the stances they have taken on issues in America. This seems popular among voters looking to learn about the people they are casting votes for.

“I educate myself by finding sources that are not a bunch of bull crap, like individuals constantly read all over the internet,” said Shane Jones, a University of Nevada, Reno graduate student. “Scholarly articles and relevant sources like BBC are examples that I use to further educate myself.”

Jones said he prefers more neutral news sources, such as BBC, citing CNN and FOX News as too biased. “I am frustrated with how media portrayed certain candidates as well as the messages about the opposite views toward certain ballot items.”

Millennials respond more to news postings on Facebook, and the live reporting style journalists take on Twitter. These articles and live-tweets can be extremely informative. However, it is not common for readers to fact check everything they read.

“There’s got to be a better way to do it, I don’t know what it is,” said Carson. “But there’s going to be a different way.”

Nevada millenials may want a better way to get to know potential state and local leaders, but may need to look at media not currently popular with this group for a solution.