BIG MONEY=POLITICAL INFLUENCE? NOT NECESSARILY

posted by Michael Chihak

The U.S. Supreme Court last year declared that money is free speech, at least when it’s in the form of political contributions.

So if it is free speech, that is, if money talks, what is it saying? Just about anything the people who use it want it to say.

But wait. That might not be the key question here. Rather than what money is saying, why not look at where it’s coming from? And where is that? Not the sources you might think.

Big, monied interests aren’t the main contributors, at least for now. Instead, it’s mostly individuals making relatively small contributions.

Take the latest campaign finance reports filed last week. In the biggest race, President Obama brought in more than all eight Republican candidates combined, about $46 million in the second quarter. Just under half the total for Obama was in contributions of under $200.

For the Republicans, more than half the contributions to presidential candidates Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain were under $200 dollars.

In our state, meantime, an Arizona Republic analysis of the 2010 election cycle showed the largest group of political contributors were retirees, giving $1.1 million total, or 14 percent of all campaign contributions.

The newspaper further reported that individuals made up the bulk of contributors, giving about $100 each, and many were affiliated with or influenced by organizations such as teachers’ unions, the National Rifle Association, the AARP and veterans’ groups.

One can draw any number of conclusions from the data, but certainly the notion that big money and big-shot donors dominate politics and own candidates doesn’t hold up.

So in politics, money does talk, but with many and varied voices.

JOURNALISTIC INTERN: HOW WE DO WHAT WE DO

posted by Michael Chihak

By DIANA SOKOLOVA, ARIZONA WEEK INTERN

Journalism includes a tremendous amount of background work, which often is left unnoticed. Before a journalist can report or write about something, he or she must do extensive research, both for the background of the topic and as a quest for people who suitable for interviewing.

Finding suitable people is one thing, but getting them for the interview, especially an on-camera interview, is another part of the TV journalist’s job. Luck and coincidences play a very important role in this quest along with professionalism.

Recently I was asked to get the director of Navajo Nation Economic Development Division for an interview. The crew and the host of the program, Michael Chihak, was going to travel to the Navajo Reservation for this interview.

As usual, time was tight. After getting the number and the name of the new director of the division, I started my hunt. After my numerous phone calls and messages on voice mail, I got no reply for two days.

I was getting desperate as the deadline was approaching. On my third day I was determined to get if not the director himself, then someone else from the division for the interview. This time, I wasn’t going to leave another message but decided to talk to whoever picked up, explain my situation and get advice on who would be willing to give an interview.

This time, luck was on my side. I was on the phone with someone in the division, who shared that the director received all my messages, but he wasn’t sure if he could give an interview, because by Navajo protocol, the director had to discuss the possible interview with the president of the Navajo Nation, Ben Shelly.

My goal was to get Albert Damon for the interview -- 30 minutes, no more, simple as that. I also did not understand why the director wouldn’t return my calls and tell me about the protocol procedure. I was lost. The whole travel route and a week's schedule of the crew depended on this interview.

Later that day I talked to the director of the division, who said Navajo President Shelly might give us an interview himself. Shelly hadn’t had an interview with anyone for a while. It would have been such a great asset for our program.

I got in touch with his personal assistant and after negotiation, she confirmed his availability. I was thrilled.

A journalist should always be prepared for unexpected shifts and changes in interviews and have a Plan B. Interview time, dates, people – all of it can change last minute without warning.

A journalist has to be determined and devoted to what the task. At the end of the day, if you did everything possible and have a little bit of luck, you will get a phone call confirming an interview.

(Editor's note: Navajo President Ben Shelly spent nearly 30 minutes with Arizona Week host Michael Chihak on Tuesday, July 12. The interview will air in early August.)

POLITICAL SMOKE: BLACK, WHITE, SHADES OF GRAY

posted by Michael Chihak

The late, great political cartoonist Jeff MacNelly, who drew the “Shoe” comic strip, once said of his chosen profession, quote, "when I first started out in journalism, i was going to be a one-man truth squad. But as time went on, my hair turned gray, and so did the truth."

Indeed, the truth is shades of gray rather than the black and white we would have it be. Or that our political leaders like to think it is.

Take the big wildfires that raced through nearly 1 million acres of Arizona's beauty in the last two and a half months.

Some politicians, in full throat, say it was environmentalists who torched the state, as if they had proof that a group of greens had walked through the forests flicking lit matches into the pine straw.

On the other side, another gaggle of politicians at the same decibel level blames businesses for causing it all by spewing carbon and other poisons into the atmosphere and raising temperatures.

Who's right and who's wrong? Both, as it turns out. The issues are much more complex than what they say.

Yet we're led to think in black and white, right and wrong, and little gets done to bring about consensus and make progress.

Where’s the leadership? Where are the politicians who will take charge and lead us where we ought to go rather than playing to their bases of support?

Coming to consensus is hard work, much harder than firing off a few zingers about their opponents not meeting the desires of the American people.

We’re seeing that in almost every realm of public governance, whether it’s coming to terms with the country’s fiscal complexities or seeking ways to protect people’s lives and livelihoods and at the same time preserve the environment.

Of course, in today’s media frenzy, politicians find the sound bite more easily crafted than the solution.

People protecting owls are made out to be tree-hugging hippies. People running businesses are labeled as evildoers in suits.

The truth? It’s lost in the gray clouds of mingling black and white smoke.

BACK HOME: GOOD ARIZONA STORIES IN THE OFFING

posted by Michael Chihak

A crew of three, 1000 miles in four days and three nights through eastern and northern Arizona to gather stories for upcoming Arizona Week episodes. We experienced a fascinating range of people, topics and tales.

Six months into the program, it was our first road trip, and we declare it a success by any measure. Look for the following stories:

-- Friday's program on how White Mountains residents and businesses are coping with the aftermath of the Wallow Fire.

-- How the Navajo Nation is seeking to expand economic opportunities among its people, for which the unemployment rate approaches 50 percent. We talk with Navajo Nation President Ben Selly.

-- Flagstaff is the big nugget in a northern Arizona gold mine of tourism. Mayor Sara Presler tells us how businesses and the community as a whole leverage their advantage and share the wealth in the region.

-- Wildfire history in Arizona shows a century of trying many approaches. The state should focus on fire the way it does on water, with a strategy and an infrastructure to deal with it on a daily basis, rather than only in crisis, ASU fire historian Steve Pyne recommends.

Those and more coming from a most fulfilling road trip, the first -- and certainly not the last -- for Arizona Week.

HOME STRETCH OF SUCCESSFUL STATE REPORTING TOUR

posted by Michael Chihak

Springerville Town Manager Steve West says his community will survive and thrive, eventually, in the wake of the record-setting Wallow Fire because of its character.

"What you find in small communities that you don't necessarily find in big communities, in the metropolitan areas, is that everyone, when it's the worst, they band together," West said in an interview for Friday's Arizona Week.

He said full economic recovery could take three to five year, not just because of the fires. The lingering recession is a major contributing factor, West said.

Springerville-Eagar Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Becki Christensen said she thinks local businesses must rethink their approach and not be afraid to undergo change.

Christensen, also interviewed for Friday's Arizona Week, said she hopes that when people understand the underlying causes of the fire -- federal restrictions on logging and cattle grazing -- that there will be a loosening to allow those industries to return and create jobs.

On Friday's program at 8:30 p.m. MST on PBS-HD-6, complete details from them and from neighboring businesses, via an interview Beverly Stepp, executive director of the Pinetop-Lakeside Chamber of Commerce.

PUTTING THE ARIZONA INTO 'ARIZONA WEEK'

posted by Michael Chihak

The singing of Springerville gave way to the storminess of Window Rock and the Navajo Nation today as we traveled for Arizona Week.

Springerville and environs gave us this Friday's episode, on the aftermath of the record-setting Wallow Fire and recovery efforts. Interviews will include Springerville's town manager and officials from two chambers of commerce in the White Mountains.

Northward we headed after a cool dawn to the Navajo Nation. We had a sunny outdoor interview with Nation President Ben Shelly with the Window Rock serving as most appropriate background. An upcoming episode of Arizona Week will feature the Shelly interview, including his economic developments plans for the tribe.

Following the visit to Window Rock was a brief stop at St. Michael on the Navajo Nation to view and photograph the beautiful historic stone church. Then we took a cross-state ride into the teeth of two fierce summer thunderstorms, arriving in Flagstaff at 5 p.m.

Overnighting here in anticipation of Wednesday interviews about Flagstaff and Interstate 40 corridor tourism business.