Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

Forgive me as I toss one more post on the heap of Sarah Palin musings.  (I’m excited to read Philip Gourevitch’s piece in the New Yorker about her blazing emergence from the murk of Alaskan politics. Please comment if you’ve read it!)  I’m trying to form a story idea about Alaskan women in politics, since there’s a chance I’ll be in Alaska around election time.

I think this piece on CNN yesterday makes a good attempt to depict the range of Alaskan women.

The main point is clear – there’s not just one type of woman up there. There’s not just one type of anyone up there. Politics in Alaska are just as polarized as in the rest of the nation. There are conservationists vs. contractors. Commercial fisherman vs. charter fishermen. Subsistence hunters vs. aerial wolf shooters. And on and on.

(By the way, owning a gun in Alaska does not add up to being a Republican or conservative or Christian. It’s like the “field-dressing a moose” thing.  Most Alaskan worth their salt knows how to field dress an animal and discharge a rifle, even if they don’t often do it. I know many passionate environmentalists and conservationists who are quite liberal in their politics and also happen to be hunters. It’s Alaska’s version of being a locavore.)

I have a friend who teaches at Sitka High School.  She said that the girls in her class just went crazy about McCain choosing Palin as veep. To them, Palin represents what an Alaskan woman can accomplish. It’s hard to crack through the good ol’ boy nepotism of Alaskan politics (even if you may argue this is only in appearances)- most people don’t even try. Palin’s story could make the difference for a smart young woman deciding to take a leadership role in her community. But I think that media, youth role models – all of us – have a tricky responsibility to surgically remove the policies from the inspiration. We want a new generation of young women to stand up for their own ideas, not just parrot a politician’s talking points.

I want to find out what these girls are thinking, and how their perceptions and engagement in their government are changing. I’m hoping it’s not about the politics, but the possibilities.