Campaign
2000: A Guide To Citizen-Based Coverage
Citizen-based
election coverage provides a new focus for journalists,
not a new mission. Journalists who take this approach must
remain tough-minded and independent. They still serve as
the watchdogs of a democratic society, but their reporting
takes on a new emphasis.
Citizen-based
coverage both looks and feels different from what most news
organizations have done in the past, while it retains essential
elements of traditional campaign reporting. Candidate appearances,
strategy, and campaign financing are news, but those stories
do not dominate the coverage by a news organization that
takes a citizen-based approach.
To
illustrate the kinds of stories that assume more weight
under this new approach, and those that assume less, we've
drawn up two parallel lists of election coverage elements.
| Less
Emphasis |
More
Emphasis |
| Candidates'
agenda |
Citizens'
agenda |
| Horse-race
polling |
Issues
polling |
| Campaign
strategy |
Candidate
proposals or solutions |
| Event-driven
coverage |
Issues-driven,
comparitive coverage |
| Episodic
coverage |
Repetition
of key elements |
| Issues
in isolation |
Issues
connected |
| Spin
doctors |
Truth
squads |
| Popularity
of candidates |
Qualifications
of candidates |
| Private
behavior of candidates |
Relevant
behavior of candidates |
By
focusing election coverage on what citizens want and need
to know and by looking at issues in depth and in a deliberative
way, news organizations can keep their eyes on the prize:
helping citizens make informed decisions.
--
Reprinted from the Poynter Election Handbook: A Guide
to Campaign Coverage.
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