We want to take your ‘Pulse’

Tired of hearing the same old news commentators producing the same familiar responses and analyses when asked to evaluate the increasingly deep divisions running through the American electorate and, thus, the American people as a whole?

Well, we are, too.

Not only that, we and our parent company — Community Newspaper Holdings (CNHI) — are aiming to do something about it.

We’re initiating a three-year project named “The Pulse of the Voters.” The key word is “Voters,” meaning, potentially, you.

The spark for this effort was the 2016 presidential election, which continues to be interpreted (and perhaps misinterpreted) more than one year after the fact.

We’ve spilled a lot of ink since that Election Day on opinions from “experts” and “insiders” and even newsmakers themselves on how and why President Donald Trump was able to progress from primary longshot to the White House. We probably have spilled even more on the impact of Trump’s first 13 months in office.

For this project, however, we really aren’t that interested in what Trump, Mitch McConnell, Charles Schumer, Jake Tapper, Rachel Maddow or Sean Hannity may think or have to say.

We’re interested in what you think, and we’re interested to a level that can’t be covered in a poll or survey.

What we’d like to do is sit down and talk with registered voters in Hunt County who would like their voices heard.  Ideally, these would be unhurried conversations that would allow our volunteers to express their views on a variety of topics, even if some of them deviate from doctrinaire conservative or liberal party lines.

If you’re interested in participating, we’d like to hear from you.  Be advised, however, that the goal of Pulse of the Voters is to sample views and ideas that aren’t often being heard.  If you’re an office-holder or political activist with a formal affiliation with one party or another, you’re outside of our target group.

While a small number of our readers may be excluded, we’re including just about everyone who’d like to get his or her thoughts on the record on the biggest issues of the day — or any other issue of personal importance.

Anyone with an interest in being interviewed for this project is encouraged to contact reporters Ryan Scott (rscott@heraldbanner.com) and Hojun Choi (hchoi@heraldbanner.com), who are in charge of producing the first installment. They can be called at 903-455-4220. Ryan’s extension is 380 and Hojun’s is 317.

Initial interviews already are underway, but this is a three-year project that won’t be complete until 2020.  If we can’t get to you immediately, time is on your side.

All of our readers will see the results in late March when we’ll produce our first local “Pulse” story, and offer a companion article which will include information and opinions gleaned from readers of the more than 100 CNHI newspapers all over the country.

It’s not our experience that Herald-Banner readers are particularly reluctant to express their views. We hope they won’t be shy in this case.  The success of “Pulse of the Voters” depends, in large part, on your willingness to inventory and air your opinions.

We can’t wait to hear from you.