New Website Tracks Candidates’ Every Word

A new website aims to capture political candidates’ every word—at least in California. Politics Verbatim attempts to track every quote, promise, and statement made by California’s two major gubernatorial contenders—Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman.
New Website Tracks Candidates’ Every Word
Conan Milner
6/22/2010
Updated:
6/22/2010
A new website aims to capture political candidates’ every word—at least in California. Politics Verbatim attempts to track every quote, promise, and statement made by California’s two major gubernatorial contenders–Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman.

The ambitious project is the brainchild of Chase Davis from the non-partisan journalist collective known as California Watch. Hoping to bring more accountability into the political process, Davis wanted to create an exhaustive resource for voters and other individuals interested in the finer points of policy.

Politics Verbatim went live earlier this week, and from the very beginning featured 300 documents and 1,000 excerpts covering both candidates. Statements will be added regularly from a variety of sources, such as news and campaign sites, as well as each candidate’s Twitter and Facebook feeds. In an effort to be thorough, the website is even encouraging crowd-sourcing from other journalists and readers.

The site features a search tool that allows users to sort candidate statements by nine different categories, including attacks and vague policy points. Users can also track candidate’s promises, geographical locations of campaign appearances, and even their attempts to dodge various issues.

Politics Verbatim won’t just feature a catalog of quotes, however. The site will also include regular blog posts from Davis, California Watch’s Senior Editor Robert Salladay, and Sacramento-based reporter Timothy Sandoval.

According to California Watch, Politics Verbatim is still in its infancy and will evolve and grow in the coming weeks. For example, the staff plans to include ways for users to assess the positions of Brown and Whitman side-by-side, so that the site can serve as a truly useful interactive guide for undecided voters. They also hope to improve ways for readers to add content, such as video and audio file uploads from public campaign events.

Eventually, California Watch hopes to expand Politics Verbatim to track other candidates and races, as soon as more resources for the project become available. Partnerships with other media outlets to further strengthen the site’s content are also possible.

“Politics Verbatim speaks to the advantages of a small newsroom,” said California Watch Editorial Director Mark Katches in a press release. “One reporter had an idea, made a pitch, and it was green-lighted quickly. We’ve been able to move fast to create this project because of the amazing talents of Davis and the lack of obstructions along the way.”

California Watch hopes that their innovative project will serve as a relevant tool in what promises to be a critical election year for the state.
Conan Milner is a health reporter for the Epoch Times. He graduated from Wayne State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and is a member of the American Herbalist Guild.
twitter
Related Topics