KRGV.com

EDITORS:

On Tuesday, with the presidential debates over, we will release two packages of the complete Why It Matters series examining issues at stake in the election and their impact on Americans.

One package will consist of all 33 stories that have moved since the series began after the conventions. These stories run about 600 words each and total nearly 20,000 words. They will appear one at a time throughout the day Tuesday.

The other package will be a one-take compilation of 150-word versions of these stories, altogether nearly 5,000 words long.

These stories have been updated as necessary since they were first released.

A new essay concluding the series will accompany the packages. Each story will have a photo. A selection of them will come with video. An interactive for customers is included.

A separate package, BC-US--Where They Stand, focuses on the positions of President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney on a broad selection of issues. Why It Matters focuses on the meaning of various issues in the lives of voters while briefly summarizing what Obama and Romney intend to do if elected.

For questions, please contact Calvin Woodward, cwoodward(at)ap.org, or Jim Drinkard, jdrinkard(at)ap.org.

Here are the topics covered in the Why It Matters series:

Abortion

Afghanistan

Auto bailout

Campaign finance

China

Civil rights

Climate change

Cybersecurity

Debt

Defense spending

Economy

Education

Energy

Environment

European economic crisis

Gay marriage

Guns

Health care

Immigration

Income inequality

Infrastructure

Iran

Israel

Labor

Missile defense

Outsourcing

Race

Social Security

Supreme Court appointments

Syria

Taxes

Terrorism

Wall Street regulation

The AP