Government, State and Local, Coverage of

Christina M. Bertsch & Marisa A. Lubeck

American news media have traditionally invested considerable time, space, and expense to cover local and state-level news. Such coverage can be dynamic and have considerable effect on public affairs, or be more passive, uninteresting, and even ineffective. The most popular media for coverage of state and local issues are newspapers and broadcast (usually television) news, and increasingly some online services. Research demonstrates that people rely more on newspapers than television for local political and governmental news—raising concerns given both the changing content of “local” television news, and the continuing decline in newspaper readership. Nor do newer media offer much promise as blogs present individual points of view and mainstream media closely control what “citizen journalism” appears on their pages or in their broadcasts. These media serve more as alternative outlets for citizens to voice their opinions rather than gather objective news. State and local governments provide greater and more direct ...

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