Those important but, let's face it,
sometimes devastatingly boring
committee hearings.
(Laughter)
Journalists discover the flaws
and ill-conceived measures
and those bills fail,
because the public was well-informed.
Readers go to the polls
and they know the pros and cons
behind every ballot measure,
because journalists
did the heavy lifting for them.
Even better,
researchers have found
that reading a local paper
can mobilize 13 percent
of nonvoters to vote.
Thirteen percent.
(Applause)
That's the number that can change
the outcome of many elections.
When you don't have a great local paper,
voters are left stranded at the polls,
confused,
trying to make their best guess
based on a paragraph of legalese.
Flawed measures pass.
Well-conceived but highly
technical measures fail.
Voters become more partisan.