The Press After Citizens United

In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, what new stories or obligations present themselves to political reporters and editors working in this new era of money and politics?

For the most part, campaign finance watchers say, the changes will mostly be related to scale. With more corporate money (and speech) poised to enter the fray, traditional watchdog reporting will become even more important. In the meanwhile, there remain plenty of open questions about the decision's full impact and legal attempts to stem it. Tracking their resolution will be fertile ground for stories. Congress and the President have floated various proposals—ranging from a constitutional amendment to more modest legislative patches—to undo the ruling's broadest effects. Eight justices (all but Thomas) agreed that government could continue to regulate disclosure of the newly allowed expenditures.