Congress and the Media

How the Media Cover Congress and its Members

Studies of media coverage of Congress primarily reveal that members of Congress are either incompetent, corrupt, or both, and that the legislative process does not work as it should. For example, an analysis of all articles on Congress in 10 news dailies during 1 month in 1978 found that journalists focused on conflict, malfeasance, and breach of public trust. Overall, this research suggested that the media generally report little that is good about Congress, reinforcing the view that Congress is a defective institution.

A major study of the impact of newspaper coverage on public confidence in institutions in the late 1970s found that coverage of Congress was much more unfavorable than was coverage of either the presidency or the Supreme Court. An analysis of network news coverage of Congress during a 5-week period in 1976 found that all news stories that presented a point of view about the institution were critical of it.

Another study of congressional coverage during a period in the late 1980s showed that the coverage emphasized scandal and contributed to the legislature's weak reputation. A study of network news reporting on Congress in 1989 concluded that two thirds of the coverage focused on a few episodes of scandal that were unrelated to the normal functions of Congress as a legislative body. Further research conducted in the 1990s also confirmed that press reporting of Congress was generally negative.

Press coverage of Congress over the years has moved from healthy skepticism to outright cynicism. When Congress enacted a 25% pay increase for its members in 1946, for example, both The New York Times and The Washington Post commented that the pay increase was needed to attract top-quality people to public service and that political leaders must be paid a salary commensurate with the responsibilities of public service. The few criticisms of the raise emphasized either the principle of public service as its own reward or the need for an even larger pay increase. More recently, however, the story has been far different. Modern congressional coverage says that the nation's legislators are egregiously overpaid, indulged, and indifferent to the problems of constituents who lack six-figure incomes and fantastic job perquisites. The press portrait of congressional members is one of self-interested, self-indulgent politicians who exploit the legislative process for personal gain. Studies identify the emergence of an aggressive, scandal-conscious media after Watergate as the leading reason for the intense interest in governmental misdeeds, rivalry, and conflict. Many political observers consider the tendency of journalists to focus on scandal and personal wrongdoings to be an investigative reporter mentality fostered by Watergate and inspired by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

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