TV Stations Ignore Local Elections: An Update

Did the public have to cram for the elections like they were one big exam? Did television newscasts ignore elections until the last minute, leaving voters with one less source of information? Rocky Mountain Media Watch (RMMW), a non-profit organization working to "challenge the news media to inform and educate the citizenry" answers yes on both counts. The group claims local newscasts ignored coverage of such issues as ballot measures, city council elections and other regional election information important to their viewers. Of three surveys of broadcasts conducted in September and October, RMMW found local election issues missing from many. During the most recent survey, conducted Oct. 23, almost half of local stations contained no news of local, state and municipal contests. Instead, 61 percent of 173 stations focused attention on the national elections. A survey conducted Oct. 2, revealed 50 of 72 newscasts contained no news of state, municipal and local elections. What's striking is that the number of election stories dropped 50 percent since the first survey while the number of election ads rose 120 percent.While the limited scope of the survey may not represent a particular station's dedication to election coverage on the whole, it is representative of a growing trend of ignoring the issues until it's too late, said RMMW's Executive Director Paul Klite. "The sample across the country speaks for itself," he said. "It averages out. The exact items covered change from day to day, but a snapshot of (all the) pieces gives you a good idea of what's going on. The stations tend to cram it all in at the end, which leads to short term decision making."The assignment editors assume cause and affect relationships with their viewers: they didn't cover the issues because the viewers didn't want the information. "It's typical of stations to blame the public," said Klite. "Obviously, the stations have got to do better."