Media Reform Conference June 6-8

I'm looking forward to another great media reform conference -- info at www.freepress.net/conference:

UBC Year-Round VFM Details

I just posted this at www.votermedia.org/ubc/details.html. I'll update it there occasionally in future, and show how many voters have registered.

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The main info page for this contest is here. Below are more details than you really need!

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Voting Instructions that appear on the ballot when you start to vote:

Please rank the media from best (most deserving of award funds) to worst (least deserving) in the "Matching pairs" section below.
- When you're done, click "Save Answer" and then "Finish", unless you want to return and finish later (any time through April 30).
- If you rank a contestant more than once, only its highest rank will be counted. E.g. if you rank a contestant both 1st and 4th, it will only be counted as ranked 1st.
- Any contestants you don't rank will be counted as ranking below those you do rank. E.g. if you only rank one contestant, it will be counted as ranking above all the others, even if you put it in the lowest rank.

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Contestant names come up in a random order for each voter.

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Plans for Future Contest Periods:

We can adjust all contest terms from one period to the next, so I welcome your ideas by email or comments on the VoterMedia blog. My current plans are:

Two contest periods in summer --
May 1 - June 30: $600: 1st prize $200, 2nd $160, 3rd $120, 4th $80, 5th $40.
July 1 - August 31: $600: 1st prize $200, 2nd $160, 3rd $120, 4th $80, 5th $40.
$10 entry fee per period.

Then monthly during school year; higher award pool in January election month.

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Suggestions for Contestants:

Since this year-round VFM contest is not linked to an AMS election, you media contestants are the main source of publicity to potential voters. Especially because voter registration is somewhat cumbersome (emailing me their login IDs), the contest may be won by those who can persuade more of their readers to vote. By about August 2008, UBC expects to have a one-step self-enrollment process by clicking on a web link and logging in. That will make it easier and increase turnout.

With preference voting and Condorcet tallying, it really matters who a voter ranks second, third etc. There are no electoral condidates to endorse, but you can review all media contestants and say how you would rank them. Some of your readers may not read all the other contestants, but could still support those that give greater public benefit.

In a way, the media contestants are a team, and different media will fulfill different roles and specializations. The value of each contestant should be judged in the context of what the other media are already providing. What does each one add to the total?