My new CJR column describes the potential value of a new political science dataset to reporters, especially those at the state level. Here's an excerpt:
The fact that many reporters dubbed [former Massachusetts senator Scott] Brown a conservative during his Senate run is not surprising given some of his positions and rhetoric. One of the challenges of state-level political reporting is the lack of easily accessible information on the voting records and ideological positions of lawmakers, which makes it harder for journalists to scrutinize the way candidates like Brown define themselves.
Now, however, that information is easier to come by. On Monday, Shor and McCarty made their state legislator ideological estimates for the 1993-2011 period publicly available for the first time, along with chamber-level estimates of state legislative polarization. These data are a valuable resource for statehouse journalists with numerous potential applications in both legislative and campaign reporting.
Read the whole thing for more.
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