Media Releases >
Media Releases Archive
> Issues fall short in election coverage
Issues fall short in election coverage
Document Tools
January 9, 2006
Media coverage of elections can be heavy on the campaign and light on the issues. That's what SFU communication PhD student Kathleen Cross found after taking a fine-tooth comb to 28 days of television newscasts during BC's 2001 provincial election coverage. Her analysis showed only one-quarter of all stories focused on election issues.
Despite the fact that the race between Liberal leader Gordon Campbell and the NDP's Ujjal Dosanjh was not a close one, TV news media in particular focused most of its attention on the events and strategies of the campaign rather than the issues.
Cross studied news broadcasts on four television stations (CBC and what were then VTV, BCTV and Global TV) and evaluated stories for their campaign or issue focus. "It seems there is more attention given to the horse race rather than the issues of the day," notes Cross, who defended her thesis, called Elections Without Politics, in December, in the midst of the current federal campaign.
Cross, who also teaches political communication at SFU, found while news anchors asked mainly campaign-related questions of party leaders in feature interviews, voters were more likely to ask issue-related questions of leaders, when given the opportunity.
"In some ways it's not surprising, TV is about entertainment," says Cross. "But if you consider that the majority of voters get their information from television, and that more voters are making their decisions during the campaigns, you realize that the impact of media coverage can be significant."
With her dissertation behind her, Cross, an admitted political junkie, will focus on the remaining stretch of the federal election and how its coverage may impact the Jan. 23 vote.
- 30 -
Despite the fact that the race between Liberal leader Gordon Campbell and the NDP's Ujjal Dosanjh was not a close one, TV news media in particular focused most of its attention on the events and strategies of the campaign rather than the issues.
Cross studied news broadcasts on four television stations (CBC and what were then VTV, BCTV and Global TV) and evaluated stories for their campaign or issue focus. "It seems there is more attention given to the horse race rather than the issues of the day," notes Cross, who defended her thesis, called Elections Without Politics, in December, in the midst of the current federal campaign.
Cross, who also teaches political communication at SFU, found while news anchors asked mainly campaign-related questions of party leaders in feature interviews, voters were more likely to ask issue-related questions of leaders, when given the opportunity.
"In some ways it's not surprising, TV is about entertainment," says Cross. "But if you consider that the majority of voters get their information from television, and that more voters are making their decisions during the campaigns, you realize that the impact of media coverage can be significant."
With her dissertation behind her, Cross, an admitted political junkie, will focus on the remaining stretch of the federal election and how its coverage may impact the Jan. 23 vote.
- 30 -