The following is a Note from Our Newsroom and News Director Brennan D. Crain.
The general election is fewer than two months away, and plans are underway at WCLU News to help you become a more-informed voter. We’re happy to reveal this autumn’s election coverage plan.
Folks are excited about the election this year – namely because there are widespread local elections across Kentucky. Voters will cast ballots with selections for offices like judge/executive, sheriff, city commissioners and councilmembers, and judges etc. We’re excited to bring you coverage of elections in Barren County. We must first address our methodology.
While we have engaged candidates throughout the years in several ways, we have decided to expand the coverage and place some of its responsibility in the community’s hands. Recognizing that transparency and consistency are important concepts, we wanted to offer a chance to get everyone involved. Here’s how we’re doing that.
Rather than one-on-one interviews with our newsroom, we’re hosting political forums on Oct. 11 & 13. These gatherings will allow candidates a chance to meet community members and voice their positions regarding a wide range of issues. To do this, we’ve developed a committee.
A committee of six community members has been selected to develop rules, sort questions, and maintain guidelines for the forums and other meetings we’ve planned. This committee was developed to demonstrate transparency and a commitment by our organization to include everyone. The committee includes these people:
- Byran Sorrell, community member at-large
- Casey Franklin, community member at-large
- Rondal Buford, community member at-large
- Mike Harris, Barren County Republican election officer
- Pat Scott, Barren County Democratic election office
One member of the committee was removed after a significant bias was discovered. We are working to replace that individual.
This committee gathered at WCLU Radio on Thursday, Sept. 8, to discuss the first steps in creating an impartial and productive series of forums. The group took action to begin the process of developing these forums. Those actions are listed below.
- Accept questions from the community through online or mail-in submissions. Submit them here.
- Post forum flyers in conspicuous locations such as the Barren County Clerk’s Office, the Barren County YMCA, Mary Wood Weldon Memorial Library, etc.
- Create deadlines for question submissions.
The Oct. 11 candidate forum will feature candidates for Barren County judge/executive, sheriff, jailer, and county attorney. The Oct. 13 candidate event will feature a forum for Glasgow mayoral candidates and a meet-and-greet with Glasgow Council candidates. The forums will be moderated by an undetermined person.
Both events will be hosted at the Historic Plaza Theatre in Glasgow at 6 p.m. Admission is free, and the public is invited to attend.
The forums will be broadcasted online at WCLU Radio’s YouTube and Facebook platforms. The Glasgow EPB will also carry the broadcast on local Cable 6. Rules for the audience will apply, however. Those guidelines have not been finalized by the committee.
The committee agreed an exhaustive list of potential questions will be provided to candidates ahead of the forum. These questions will include some of the actual questions asked. Those will not be revealed until the evening of the forums.
WCLU News is accepting questions for these forums by mail or online. The deadlines vary, depending on which method you choose to submit your questions.
- Online submissions are due no later than Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. A form to submit can be found at WCLURadio.com.
- Mail-in submissions are to be postmarked no later than Sept. 23.
The committee will reconvene on Sept. 28 to review submitted questions and develop the final list of questions to be asked at each forum. Questions will likely be combined and developed for efficiency and fairness. Any one question will be asked of both candidates. For example, one question will not be directed toward a Republican while another is directed toward a Democrat.
Following the committee’s development of the list, questions will be released to candidates.
Some have expressed concern regarding no announcement of events for candidates running for county magistrate or Cave City offices. We are working to secure venues and will release those plans once they are made.
Again, transparency is important. We acknowledge that.
- Brennan Crain, news director, will NOT provide input regarding the mayoral forum due to his conflict of interest with candidate for Glasgow mayor, Henry Royse, who works at WCLU Radio.
- Rondal Buford will NOT provide input regarding the mayor forum either. His conflict of interest resides in his association with W. Keith Rowlett, candidate for Glasgow mayor, who is his pastor at church.
We are working to discover other biases that may exist.
Please join us on the air, online or in-studio for our live election returns broadcast on Nov. 8. The broadcast begins at 6 p.m. on WCLU 103.1 FM, 1490 AM, WCLURadio.com and GEPB Channel 6. Candidates are welcome to come to our studios for interviews and live tabulations. We’re located at 229 W. Main St. in Glasgow.
We cannot thank enough the community members who have agreed to assist in providing Barren County voters transparent and effective pre-election events. Please stay tuned for more information in the coming days. Thank you for making us a trusted news leader.