The lead reporters covering Money in Politics & Fair Courts Flashcards
To learn the top journalist covering Money in Politics and Fair Courts issues and ReThink Intel on how best to pitch them.
Bruce Schreiner
Associated Press
Schreiner generally writes with a moderate tone, focusing on the process of the Kentucky legislature. He does not often write about the specifics of campaign finance policy. Most recently, he received national attention for his reporting on the indictment of Republican strategist Jesse Benton on charges of conspiring to buy support for Ron Paul in the 2012 presidential election. His follow-up stories have included Rand Paul’s attempts to pay for the GOP presidential caucuses in Kentucky. He has also covered illegal donations by other state politicians.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/3664
Josh Eidelson
Bloomberg Businessweek
Josh covers many issues but frequently reports on stories that touch on court developments. Following the Tennessee retention election he covered big money’s failure to oust the judges. Before the election, he published a more general piece on special interest groups spending millions on traditionally low-profile judicial races across the country. Josh clearly gets the issue and is sympathetic to the fair courts frame. Additional outreach from the community will likely result in increased coverage. He has not quoted individuals from Fair Courts groups. He is very active on Twitter.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/3003
Alan Blinder
New York Times
Alan has a diverse portfolio at the New York Times, but focuses exclusively on issues and events in the South, including politics and elections, court cases, shootings, and general crime. In the run up to and following the 2014 Tennessee judicial retention elections, Alan published several on point pieces detailing conservative outside groups attempt to influence the outcome with misleading attack ads. Alan quotes groups in the Fair Courts collaborative as well as current and former judges and representatives from outside spending groups.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/3001
Kurt Erickson
Pantagraph
Kurt covers state government and politics from the state house press office, as the Springfield Bureau Chief for the Lee Enterprises in Illinois. In terms of money in politics coverage, Erickson has mainly written stories about lobbying. He also writes about money in politics in his blog on Pantagraph.com. In that blog, he writes much more casually, calling out both Republican and Democratic politicians for campaign blunders and corruption. In his news stories, Erickson quotes attorneys, politicians, and Money in Politics and Fair Courts groups. He is not active on social media.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/2378
Jess Bravin
Wall Street Journal
Jess Bravin has covered major Supreme Court cases involving money in politics including McCutcheon v FEC and Citizens United v FEC. Bravin looks at the reasoning of the justices, comments made by leading political figures, and comments coming from the parties involved in the case. Jess Bravin is active on Twitter.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/3680
Nolan Clay
The Oklahoman
Clay has written a series of investigative stories about political bribery in the state. Most recently, he has uncovered the money trail of a bribe initiated by a major state representative and senator to convince a political opponent to withdraw their candidacy. He has also analyzed the efficacy of term limits in the Oklahoma legislature. He has used his articles to disclose campaign donors to the public. Clay has recently been active on Twitter, posting about breaking news from the state capitol. He does not use it to interact with coalition groups.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/3632
Laura Hancock
Casper Star-Tribune
Hancock has covered PAC activity, corruption in small towns and secret money in Wyoming. She can be pitched on stories that include statehouse campaign finance issues that are relevant to her Western readers. Specifically, she has reported on the regulation of independent expenditures and the attempts by state lawmakers to repeal caps on PAC spending. She has also reported on Wyoming’s compliance with the McCutcheon v. FEC decision. Hancock is active on Twitter.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/3537
Jim Brunner
Seattle Times
Brunner writes stories about conflicts of interest caused by money in politics, primarily due to independent expenditures. This is partly due to Seattle’s stricter regulation of donations from individuals than political action committees. He should be pitched on money in politics stories as well as fair courts stories. In stories about fair courts, Brunner has reported on the attempt by state legislators to expose the state Supreme Court as a partisan body by requiring that they disclose their political party affiliation.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/3526
Matt Volz
Associated Press
Matt Volz has covered judicial conduct stories, big money in Montana_’s Senate elections and proposed solutions to the influence of secret money on elections. In his debate coverage of the 2014 Senate election, he reported that both candidates would support overturning Citizens United through legislation or a constitutional amendment. More recently, he wrote a detailed article on Montana_’s three-year effort to become one of the first states to require a new level of disclosure to prevent dark-money from influencing elections.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/3528
Max Brantley
Arkansas Times
Max Brantley reports in favor of coalition positions on money in politics issues and should be pitched about the influence of wealthy donors in the context of Arkansas elections. He has written about the activity of reform groups in the Occupy movement and has covered the extent of super PAC influence on the 2014 elections in Arkansas. Brantley is critical of the Koch brothers and his columns have featured headlines likeHow the rich buy elections andThe political spending tidal wave: Enter the billionaires. He has backed up his claims by occasionally citing work provided by members of the coalition, like a Center for Public Integrity report in 2014.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/3516
Zoe Carpenter
The Nation
Zoe writes about US politics from a liberal perspective. Her reporting on money in politics and fair courts is favorable to the reform community. She has attended events hosted by organizations in the reform community. She is interested in reporting on the “least covered” stories on money in politics. She has reported on the bi-partisan nature of campaign finance reform and the stealth campaign to buy America’s courts. She does not write on money in politics exclusively, also favoring environmental issues. She is active on Twitter and interacts minimally with other users.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/3264
Robert Faturechi
ProPublica
Robert Faturechi is a new to the campaign finance beat as of August 2014, replacing Kim Barker as ProPublica’s campaign finance reporter. Robert has published articles on judicial retention elections in Kansas and the telecomm industry’s campaign against FCC internet regulations. Given the outlet, tailor your pitches for long form, investigative journalism, not daily news cycle reporting. In his reporting at The Times, which he joined in 2009, Faturechi exposed inmate abuse, cronyism, and wrongful jailings at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/3000
Andrew Prokop
Vox
Prokop started with Vox at its launch, where he covers politics. He followed the aftermath of the Supreme Court case McCutcheon v FEC, describing a Republican fundraising committee that sprung up shortly after the ruling. McCutcheon was one of the first big money in politics stories that Prokop covered for Vox. In addition to the McCutcheon case, Prokop has reported on state-level efforts to reform campaign finance and the influence of money in politics. In his reporting, Prokop does not editorialize. He is moderately active on Twitter and does not seem to interact with others.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/2881
John Nichols
The Nation
John Nichols reports on policy and the federal government for The Nation, and covers special interest influence and campaign finance reform grassroots movements in his work. Nichols closely covered the McCutcheon v FEC decision, relaying the response by Senator Bernie Sanders and describing Republicans in Congress as ignoring the bipartisan countrywide grassroots response. Nichols is very active on Twitter, where he interacts with both journalists and followers.
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/2879
David Weigel
Bloomberg
David Weigel is a political reporter for Bloomberg since September 2014. Before joining Bloomberg he routinely covered money in politics issues at Slate, including the influence of the Koch brothers and dark money. Weigel also covered the Supreme Court decision McCutcheon v FEC, mainly focusing on the right_’s response to the decision. Weigel has stated in his articles that he believes donations should be uncapped but disclosed. He has argued that super PACs have actually helped democracy and reported on Republicans who claimed that McCutcheon could increase transparency
For more ReThink Intel, bio, and contact info click here rethinkmedia.org /node/2878
