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Showing posts from 2014

Update: The day after abandoning my Facebook page

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My first full day without my Facebook page is going well and the experience feels differently than I'd imagined, which I'll explain in a moment. I heard from many fellow journalists yesterday after posting my detailed reasoning for shrugging off the "Pages" system Facebook wants us to use-- in favor of simply creating a second account , wanting to know how this goes. READ: WHY I KISSED MY FACEBOOK PAGE GOODBYE It's a proposition that puts me at risk of being found in violation of Facebook's terms of service, though I sincerely hope not. FIRST, THE NUMBERS! As I write this, my new account is up to 275 friends and a handful of subscribers. Which means on just the first day, I'm at 71 percent of the total connections (386) I had on my fledgling page before I abandoned it. I've had a steady flow of friend requests since then, and Facebook made it pretty easy to grow my audience by suggesting all kinds of friends for me. I was giddy to dis

Why I kissed my Facebook page goodbye

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I tried. I REALLY tried... to do Facebook the way Facebook wanted me to do it. But after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I've decided that as a journalist, Facebook's current system just isn't for me in my professional life. I'm not leaving Facebook outright, (unless the social network giant decides to TOS me... more on this below) but I am kissing my reporter page goodbye... in favor of a second personal profile for work. Why? It's simple: Facebook has consistently rewarded all of my friends in the news business who broke the rules-- while punishing those of us who foolishly chose to abide by them. If you're short on time, I can show you my motivation in one chart, prefaced with the fact that my Twitter account and my professional Facebook page have both been active since 2011: I earned more followers on my Twitter account in the past month than I have in several years of posting highly-relevant news content to my Facebook page. And, final

PLANET POLITICS: Haunted Houses for Senate

From the inbox of a political reporter, glimpses of press releases that usually go ignored: stunts, over-the-top quotes, and bizarre story pitches.  This occasional blog series is meant to show the level of dialogue on Planet Politics: NextGen Climate Colorado has made a point of staging elaborate displays in its effort to help Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colorado) win re-election this year. With Halloween around the corner, the group thought it could get attention by building a "haunted house" on the Auraria campus in Denver: The House of Deception gives young voters a look at Gardner’s harmful and deceptive stances and voting history before they cast their ballots this fall. In the lead-up to Election Day, Coloradans will have the chance to check out Cory Gardner’s House of Deception as it makes stops around the Front Range, including University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Denver, and Colorado State University. “Though it’s almost Halloween, nothing should scare youn

Fun with Truth Testing

Tonight we're going to take on the latest ad from AFP targeting Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colorado) on the topic of Obamacare. But we couldn't let go of this political ad actress saying she doesn't like political ads... Watch the full Truth Test on 9NEWS at 6 & 9pm Tuesday and on 9NEWS.com.

WATCH: #COpolitics in 5 minutes

Something new for you today from the 9NEWS political team. In this five-minute discussion, we take a look at the widely-discussed possibility that former Congressman Bob Beauprez (R-Colorado) will jump into the Governor's race amid a crowded field. Should he run? Can he win? Also, a look at how the US Senate race is shaping up now that Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colorado) has decided to take a run at Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colorado.) #BeOn9: We want YOUR TOPICS & QUESTIONS for future episodes. Email 9NEWS political reporter   Brandon Rittiman   or reach out on  Twitter.

Will Denver snag the 2016 RNC?

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The list was finalized today and Denver is in the running to bring one of the biggest events of the next presidential election to Colorado. The 2016 Republican National Convention is looking for a host city and the list of 8 contenders came out on Thursday: Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Denver, Dallas, Kansas City, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. Now that the list of contenders is out, the question is: “Do we have a shot?" The graphic above shows the picks from the 9NEWS political team, representing where we think the RNC is most likely to go. I'll explain my full ranking of the cities below, but bear in mind that t he decision is a soupy mix of picking a place where things will go smoothly and where the best political story can be told.