In New Hampshire, independent voters turn to alternative media

Anyone who doubts that voters are often bypassing traditional media to learn about candidates should spend a little time with Russ Ouellette.

The New Hampshire independent estimates that he spends six to seven hours a week these days reviewing his options on which presidential contender to vote for. He keeps a list of all of them, crossing names out one by one as he eliminates them or they drop out of the race. Spirited discussions with his wife or his father are nearly as frequent as perusing websites such as The Hankster or getting Google News alerts pegged to key words he's chosen, including "independent."

Then there are the four to five e-mails his friends send each day with Web links he should check out. That's how he discovered Democratic candidate Barack Obama's speech at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Iowa last month. And he was wowed but not completely sold, he says.

As voters like Mr. Ouellette mull over their choices, they're using old means of communication – like word-of-mouth and personal contact with candidates – as well as new ones like the Internet. What they're relying on less is traditional media. Even here in New Hampshire, where voters make more of an effort to stay informed than the average citizen, many are paying less attention to TV news and newspapers than in past election cycles. Though these civically-minded voters can't ignore it, especially with the myriad debates on cable news, they're finding that it's not all that helpful in their decisionmaking and sometimes serves as a mere distraction.

"People are deeply cynical about the media these days," says Michael Krasner, a political scientist at Queens College in Flushing, N.Y. "They are relying more heavily on friends and family, and it may open up the Web as an alternative source of information."

Nationally, a majority of people are suspicious of press coverage of the campaign. Sixty-four percent do not trust it, and 61 percent say that 2008 coverage focuses too much on trivial issues, according to a survey released last month by the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University.

In the Granite State, home of the nation's first primary, it's a running joke that New Hampshirites can't make up their minds until they meet the candidates. "They want to see them in the flesh, talk to them and ask them questions," says Mr. Krasner. The sheer number of candidates in such a small state means that voters can often trip over them.

Democratic candidates more visible

Nearly three-quarters of Democrats or undeclared voters likely to vote in the Democratic primary have been called on the telephone by a campaign, while 35 percent attended a campaign event, according to an ABC News-Washington Post poll released this month. Just 17 percent had spoken with or shaken the hand of a Democratic hopeful. In contrast, among Republicans or undeclared voters planning to vote in the GOP primary, 54 percent have been called, 17 percent have attended a campaign event, and 15 percent have spoken with or shaken the hand of a GOP candidate.

But lately it has become more difficult for voters to see candidates of either party up close. A compressed primary calendar has states' contests so close together that New Hampshire is competing for attention among the other states with early contests, including Iowa, South Carolina, and Florida.

"It's not that they're snubbing New Hampshire but that the compression ... requires them to be in other places," says Wayne Lesperance, professor of political science at New England College in Henniker, N.H. New Hampshire's primary on Jan. 8 comes just five days after the Iowa caucuses.

Under these circumstances, voters find that it's best to get as close to the source as they possibly can. When Donna Richards, an independent, isn't poring over a candidate's website, she may be grilling a candidate's representatives when they come to her door or call her up, she says.

"I find that the candidates have some very articulate and knowledgeable young people working for them and they're able to pretty accurately speak in their stead, which is helpful," Ms. Richards says.

The staff of Democratic contender John Edwards has impressed her. She refers to an 80-page online document that outlines his policies. "His campaign workers have it down cold," she says.

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