About the Story: In 1998, there were 53 judges running unopposed in Dallas County. A scan of the ballot showed that every one of them was a Republican. According to Doug Fox, the idea of appointing rather than electing judges had been floated, especially by Democrats. The Republicans were understandably eager to preserve the status quo. In the story, we hear from a judge (not running for re-election) who says he's uncomfortable with party affiliations, and believes many colleagues agree. He says party affiliation has no relationship to what judges do, adding, "There's no Democratic law, no Republican law."

Behind the Story: This story was one of eight pre-election issue stories WFAA developed out of its "Listening to Texas" project and poll. "We wanted to wrest control of the political agenda from the politicians," says John Miller, WFAA's news director at the time. (Miller is now corporate news director for WFAA's parent company, Belo.) The station set out to learn what issues mattered to citizens. Based on what the station heard in community meetings and one-and-one sessions, the newsroom catalogued the public's concerns. Some issues people raised, like the method of selecting judges, weren't on the ballot and weren't being discussed by candidates. WFAA took the citizens' issues and commissioned a "Listening to Texas" poll. Other poll topics included social promotion in public schools, the budget, the economy, a patients' bill of rights, free college tuition for high school grads with "B" or better averages, and term limits for state offices. Then the station developed eight stories from the poll results. They ran on the station's 10 p.m. newscasts on days leading up to the election.

Beyond the Story:

• The station builds on tradition. "A lot of stations have given up on (covering politics). We haven't," says John Miller, "We put it on the air because we think it is important, and that takes some courage." Miller acknowledges that viewer surveys may not rank politics as a topic of high interest. But he believes many citizens, and especially opinion leaders in his community, turn to WFAA for political news and election coverage. David Duitch, who succeeded John Miller as news director, plans to keep the tradition going. "I'm very pleased this station is committed to having extensive, if not exhaustive, political coverage," he says. · The station commits resources. In the fall of 1999, WFAA had already laid the groundwork for covering the 2000 presidential race. The station plan calls for sending crews to the Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire, South Carolina and California, and to both major conventions. The station will again invest in polling. Ironically, while WFAA will incur significant expense, it's unlikely to reap revenue from presidential campaign ads if Texas Governor George W. Bush advances in the race. Already popular at home, Bush is likely to allocate advertising dollars to other states. That economic reality--high expense, low revenue-- underscores the depth of WFAA's commitment to political coverage.
  
  
• A knowledgeable journalist leads the coverage. Doug Fox has covered politics for WFAA since the day he started in 1974. "He's well-sourced and well-grounded," according to John Miller. Fox says good political reporters "have to understand what's going on, to get beyond the surface, to put things in context." At a time when politicians can use television to campaign on imagery instead of issues, Fox believes good reporters point out the difference between the two. "Call a photo-op a photo-op," he says. Fox is so knowledgeable about politics and campaigns that the station asked him to draw up WFAA's budget for the 2000 presidential race.
  
  
• The station provides back-up. WFAA staffs a bureau in the state capital of Austin. Parent company, Belo, has a Washington bureau, which feeds stories to WFAA. A WFAA newscast producer also specializes in election coverage, and stays abreast of issues. Numerous WFAA reporters have tenure in the newsroom and bring perspective when assigned to cover politics. "Our staff is so long in the tooth," says Fox. "We've got tons of experience, so we can pull in a lot of resources" when election time rolls around. John Miller says Fox mentors young reporters. He shares a love of writing along with his passion for politics, and he does so for a reason. He wants WFAA's commitment to political coverage to continue. Fox is looking ahead to retirement in three or four years and says, simply, "I want others coming up to step in my shoes."