CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Press Association today launched its first statewide survey to solicit voters' opinions on politics and the media.

The survey is available at www.pulseresearch.com/npa. People who take the survey become eligible for a drawing for a vacation getaway.

"We're trying to find out where voters go to get information during election campaigns, and the sources they rely on when deciding which candidates to support," said Barry Smith, executive director of the NPA.

For example, the survey asks voters if they visited candidate web sites during the last election, and how newspaper endorsements influence their vote.

Residents throughout Nevada will have an opportunity to respond to the survey during June. It is being promoted throughout the state by newspapers ranging from the largest dailies such as the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Reno Gazette-Journal to the hometown weekly papers from Ely to Tonopah to Gardnerville.

The NPA, established in 1924, is the trade organization representing 42 papers around the state, as well as several in the Lake Tahoe region of California.

NPA operates a political advertising network, which enables candidates and campaigns to reach more than 300,000 readers in member newspapers and their web sites through one-stop convenience. Smith said the survey is designed to help the network do a better job of connecting candidates with voters.

"Newspaper readers are generally well-informed about the issues in their communities, and they tend to be active voters," Smith said. "Politicians need to get their message to those people."

Details about the vacation drawing may be found at www.nevadapress.com.

For more information, contact Barry Smith at 775-885-0866 or nvpress@callatg.com.