Citizens’ Agenda
After weeks of cloudy, gray days, the sun finally reappeared in our part of the world this week. The air is still crisp, but the birds’ songs hint at Spring. Personally it was a week of great productivity and focus. Regardless, most things take longer to accomplish than my mind can imagine. I got lots of things done, with much more still to do.
I continue to be a “good boy” in terms of diet, exercise and weight loss. I wrote last week about avoiding sweets. I continue to be disciplined on this front - but I need a little bit of help from you to maintain this, I think. Our youngest son’s 21st birthday approaches, and I offered to make a dessert of his choosing to celebrate. We’ll be visiting him in a few weeks. After our visit, he will be hosting some friends at his apartment, where they will enjoy this dessert that I prepare. He chose Christina Tosi’s Gooey Butter Pecan Pie - a cake/pie hybrid that involves multiple components, and a recipe that I have no experience making. To be certain that I deliver a well-executed dessert to the birthday boy for his party, I’d like to make a test pie some time in the week ahead, and I’d like one of my readers to eat it and offer feedback. If you are interested in receiving a free pie, baked by yours truly, simply send me an email and you’ll get your name entered into a random drawing. I’ll select the winner early in the coming week, and we can mutually arrange to get the pie to you. Sadly, this contest is limited to people who live within a thirty-minute drive from my house. So, my Finnish readers are unable to participate. :-)
This being a presidential election year, coverage of the primaries and the likely re-match of Donald Trump and Joe Biden are taking up a lot of the oxygen in the media these days. I saw a post on X (formerly Twitter) recently that I feel is worth sharing. Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu), journalism professor at New York University, posted about how coverage of city elections in Dublin, Ireland followed the “Citizens Agenda” model that Rosen has championed these past few years.
Rosen rightly suggests that the public is better served by the press when it covers political candidates in terms of their alignment with the priorities of the electorate, rather than the typical “horse race” type coverage, citing polls indicating one candidate is leading over another. To translate my understanding of Rosen’s central point, who cares which horse is leading the race if neither horse is interested in the priorities of the electorate?
So here was the Dublin Inquirer’s explicit approach to covering the 2019 city elections:
“So here it is, our list of issues our readers want us to ask candidates about, known as our readers’ citizens’ agenda.
Readers tell us they want us to ask candidates what they would do to:
Increase the supply of social and affordable homes.
Make the renting of a home in the city more affordable.
Improve public transport.…”
The list was somewhat long, but you get the idea.
By diligently covering candidates based on their interest in engaging with the issues of the electorate, rather than their relative status in the polls against their opponents, journalists are in a much better position to cover the stakes of the election, rather than just trying to predict the election's outcome. (Rosen calls this "Covering the stakes, not the odds.")
As we wade into what are likely to be murky media waters this year, I encourage you think deeply about what your personal version of a Citizens’ Agenda might look like - then seek out and amplify journalism that addresses that agenda.
Be warned - this is quite a bit more thoughtful an exercise than simply re-tweeting something you see in social media that jibes with your personal mental map. Lord knows there will be plenty of shareable echo-chamber items, as there always are. I’m talking about issues that you view as important, the extent to which each candidate has views/policy plans around those issues, and how those candidates’ positions match with your personal preferences. This is what I hope to see more of in the weeks and months ahead.
As voters, we have a job to do. Let’s do it well.
Sunday Supper
I made this White Chicken Chili this past week, and it was great. Pairing it with this salad would get some vegetables into your life: Warm Kale & Caramelized Mushroom Salad.
Sunday Music
Today I share a throwback performance by Broadway performer Carrie Manolakos - her cover of Radiohead's Creep made her a viral sensation back in April of 2012. In addition to this song, check out this video overview of Manolakos' career thus far. There is so much talent everywhere. Enjoy!
Have a great week ahead! Offer support to others. Make good use of this day. And let me know how I can help.
Peace & Love,