Fall 2005: Comparing National and Local Campaign Coverage Introduction

In writing about their comparative examination of national and local campaign coverage, Shanto Iyengar, the Chandler Professor of Communication at Stanford University, and colleagues William F. Woo, former editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who teaches in the graduate journalism program, and doctoral student Jennifer McGrady examine both the content and quality of the news reporting they studied, interpret what they learned in their analysis, and explain the significance of their findings on future political coverage. “… there were significant differences between what the journalists thought (or said) they produced and what was actually published,” they conclude. “Strikingly, reporters and editors significantly overestimated the substantive content of their stories.” A close look at the coverage also revealed a “discrepancy between what journalists assert is important and what news actually reaches readers.”