WNYC Announces “Your Voice, Your Choice” 2018 Midterm Elections Coverage

WNYC Announces “Your Voice, Your Choice” 
2018 Midterm Elections Coverage

Local News and Podcast Leader to Emphasize Civic Engagement and Interactivity

The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart 
To Host National Weeknight Call-in Show “AMERICA ON THE LINE,”
Launching Tonight

Digital Features Include “ASK A REPORTER,”
an Online Hub for Listeners to Submit Local Politics Questions and
“COUNT ME IN,” Mobile Alerts to Encourage Voter Engagement

New Daily Podcast Feed “POLITICS BRIEF” to Curate the
Best Midterm Coverage Across WNYC
Elections.WNYC.org

(New York, NY– September 10, 2018) – Today, WNYC announces “Your Voice, Your Choice,” a portal for robust local and national news coverage, audience interaction, and civic engagement around the 2018 midterm elections.  

“Your Voice, Your Choice” offers a multiplatform approach – radio, podcasts, and digital tools – to help voters make sense of the issues, examine what’s at stake in races in New York and beyond, and foster meaningful dialogue across ideological lines. Audiences will also be able to ask questions and directly engage on the issues through digital tools that will empower them in the democratic process, from learning about their candidates to getting to the polls.

Coverage will feature WNYC’s most trusted voices, including hosts Brian Lehrer (The Brian Lehrer Show), Brooke Gladstone (On The Media), Kai Wright (The United States of Anxiety), Yasmeen Khan and Shumita Basu (WNYC News), Tanzina Vega (The Takeaway) and Amy Walter (Friday edition of The Takeaway), as well as the top political minds on the local and national scene, including reporters from Gothamist and editorial partners including HuffPost, City Limits, and Gotham Gazette.

“While the issues at stake are national, voting is ultimately a local act,” said Jim Schachter, Vice President of News, WNYC. “With the decline in local news, democracy is threatened, even in a year of unprecedented engagement. WNYC is committed to filling this void in New York City and our region with original and independent reporting, deep and nuanced discussions of the issues, and tools to equip voters with the knowledge it takes to get them into the voting booth.”

 

RADIO

Special coverage kicks off tonight with the debut of “America On the Line,” a new one-hour national weeknight call-in show hosted by Washington Post writer and MSNBC contributor Jonathan Capehart. Airing live Mondays through Thursdays for nine weeks leading up to the election, “America On the Line” will convene conversations with Americans across the country who are engaging with politics at unprecedented levels. From first time candidates -- teachers, veterans, women -- to young organizers and seasoned strategists, each night will focus on the people and urgent political and social issues that are inspiring so much activism.

Capehart will also be joined by a roster of reporters from WNYC, as well as analysts and journalists from across the political spectrum, including:

• Ben Domenech, conservative writer, publisher of The Federalist;
• Christina Greer, Professor of Political Science, Fordham University;
• Maria Hinojosa from NPR’s Latino USA;
• Jamil Smith, LA based journalist reporting on race, gender, politics and culture;
• Charlie Sykes, longtime conservative talk radio host;
• Joan Walsh, journalist, The Nation, CNN, and WNYC.

“America On the Line” will air Mondays through Thursdays, from 8 - 9 pm EST on WNYC 93.9 FM and AM820, on more than 130 public radio stations nationwide, and at WNYC.org.

Beginning Monday, September 24, The Brian Lehrer Show will present its signature election series “30 Issues in 30 Days” – a 30-day exploration of the issues and policy proposals shaping the 2018 midterm elections. WNYC’s Peabody Award-winning host Brian Lehrer and guests will tackle topics at length, engage with listeners, and discuss how the issues will play out in Americans’ voting. The Brian Lehrer Show airs weekdays from 10 am – 12 pm EST on WNYC 93.9 FM and AM820, and is also available via livestream at WNYC.org

 

DIGITAL

To encourage civic engagement, WNYC has created tools to make the issues in local elections accessible and hands-on:

• WNYC and Gothamist’s “Ask a Reporter,” an online feature devoted to bolstering our collective civic know-how. New Yorkers can submit questions on how to navigate civic life, as well as questions on voting and elections. WNYC reporter Yasmeen Khan will work from now until Election Day to investigate the answers, as well as tell the stories of other New Yorkers trying to get involved. To submit questions, please visit here.

• WNYC’s “Count Me In” mobile alerts will give listeners an easy way to become more informed, activated voters. Participants can sign up to receive a series of text messages with simple tips and actions that support them in registering to vote, creating a voting plan, and getting out the vote in their community.      

• WNYC, in partnership with City Limits and Gotham Gazette, presents its 2018 NY State Primary Election Voter Guide, a resource for voters to learn more about the races in their district.

• WNYC’s “Politics Brief” newsletter, curating essential insights and original reporting from all of WNYC’s media properties, Gothamist, and editorial partners including HuffPost.  Users can sign up for the three-times-a-week newsletter here.

 

PODCASTS

For listeners on the go, WNYC presents a new podcast feed -- Politics Brief -- with the sharpest and most timely talk, analysis, and local enterprise reporting from the award-winning WNYC Newsroom and programs such as The Brian Lehrer Show, On The Media, and The Takeaway. Listeners will also hear segments from three podcasts launching this fall: The United States of Anxiety: Season 3 (September 18), which examines gender, race and power in American politics; Trump, Inc.: Season 2 (September 26) which will profile the people in President Trump’s universe who are profiting from the administration; and More Perfect, the Radiolab spinoff about American democracy, which is launching a compilation album of new music inspired by the 27 amendments to the U.S. Constitution on September 18. The album will be released in conjunction with More Perfect’s third season.

 

Funding for WNYC’s election coverage is provided in part by Emerson Collective. Additional funding is provided by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, The New York Community Trust, and New York Public Radio Trustee Dr. Mary White.

ABOUT WNYC

With an urban vibrancy and a global perspective, WNYC is New York’s public radio station, broadcasting and streaming award-winning journalism, groundbreaking audio programming and essential talk radio to the city and beyond. WNYC is a leading member station of NPR and also broadcasts programs from the BBC World Service, along with a roster of WNYC-produced local programs that champion the stories and spirit of New York City and the surrounding region. From its state-of-the-art studios, WNYC is reshaping audio for a new generation of listeners, producing some of the most-loved nationally-syndicated public radio programs including Radiolab, On the Media, The Takeaway and Snap Judgment. WNYC broadcasts on 93.9 FM and AM 820 to listeners in New York and the tri-state area, and is available to audiences everywhere at WNYC.org, the WNYC app and through major digital radio services, all made possible through the generous support of our members, donors and sponsors.