Local Media Coverage of Campaigns

THE MEDIA PROVIDES voters with a great deal of information about political events, including political campaigns. With this power to provide information comes the power to set the agenda and frame the public's perceptions of political campaigns and candidates. Scholarly research and public consciousness tend to focus on national media coverage of political campaigns. However, local media coverage of campaigns also plays an influential role in shaping voters' knowledge. Scholars' research in local media coverage of campaigns has focused on agenda-setting functions, framing, bias, and differences between coverage of campaign events and content of the media reporting.

Local Coverage of National Politics

Nationally-circulated newspapers such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today are often noted for their agenda-setting functions. However, there are millions of Americans who do not read these national newspapers, but instead rely on their local newspapers for information about political campaigns. Regardless of if a media source is local or national, the source is afforded a great deal of power in its ability to set the agenda for what is important in the campaign. Further, the media often carry the privilege and responsibility of filtering, interpreting, and spinning campaign events. In fact, how the press reports on a campaign event, such as a candidate debate or speech, for example, may be more influential than a voter's initial reaction to that event. Both national and local media will frequently provide spin on political events such as campaign speeches, advertisements, and debates. Local media, in particular, may provide additional framing of the local importance or relevance of a campaign issue.

Framing is an important issue in both local and national media coverage. Framing refers to the way reporters select stories and influence the salience attributed to a news story or element of that news story. Framing is often associated with issues of media bias. However, connotations of framing are not always negative. Local media should be expected to frame a story about a national campaign in a way that best relates it to their local audiences. For example, it is a common and logical practice for local media to consult their congressional[Page 377] representatives on national issues. Similarly, local media will often report on presidential candidates' visits to local populations.

Scholars' research on local media coverage of campaigns has focused on agenda-setting functions, framing, bias, and differences between coverage of campaign events and content of the media reporting.