Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Alerts | Electronic edition | Advertise | Subscribe to the paper | Today's Extras

Breaking News:

Subscribe

Salzman: TV's election coverage paltry

Informal study: Political ads outpace news reports 6-to-1

Published September 30, 2006 at midnight

Text size  

More News Columns & Blogs

More stories »

Part of me could forgive local TV news shows for broadcasting so much mayhem and fluff during most of the year, if they would just cover elections like real journalistic enterprises do.

But the upcoming election is barely registering a blip on Denver's 10 p.m. news shows, according to my analysis of weeknight programs from Sept. 19-25.

On those nights, I counted 11 stories about candidates and ballot issues. That's the total for 15 35-minute shows over five days on all three network affiliates (ABC, CBS, NBC).

The marijuana initiative was the most popular topic, with four stories, followed by two on Amendment 39 and two pieces (on CBS 4 News) checking the facts in political advertisements.

And guess how many political ads I counted: Sixty-seven. (About half were about the governor's race and 22 about U.S. House races.)

So, for every election story, there were about six political ads, during the 10 p.m. newscasts alone.

It's tough for journalism to compete with political advertising under any circumstances, because the number of ads is so overwhelming.

But if TV news shows dedicated serious time to the election, at least there would be more hope that truth, not propaganda, would prevail.

Here's the sad part: More U.S. citizens get their news from local TV news shows than any other source, according to polls. These programs are our country's No. 1 news source!

And sadder still: All 11 election stories I saw were fair and compelling, and demonstrated - to no one's surprise - that local TV journalists are capable of excellent election reporting.

That is, if they're assigned to cover real stories, instead of garbage like the Sept. 25 story on 9News about the folks trying to set the world record for the most continuous hours of watching football.

Or the one, on all three channels on Sept. 19, about Taffy and Dan, two "very special kittens" with hurt paws available at the animal shelter.

So, TV news directors, will you let your staff journalists make their profession proud over the next six weeks?

How about broadcasting at least five minutes of election news every night until Nov. 7 - unless more important stories emerge?

Scary thought, I know, because five minutes is even more time than you spend on sports. But you can do it.

And if you did, you'd be keeping your promise to operate in the "public interest," as stipulated in your FCC licenses. How good would that feel, for a change?

If you need help, the Campaign Legal Center's Web site has tips on how local broadcasters can do better covering elections - as well as information about a bill requiring TV stations to air more candidate or issue-centered stories prior to elections.

But it shouldn't take a federal law to get local TV news to do this. All they need to do is pay attention to their journalistic consciences.

Sponsoring a forum on ballot issues, like 9News did on Tuesday, or on-air gubernatorial debates, like Channels 7 and 4 are planning for Oct. 3 and Nov. 4 respectively, is good, but these events don't substitute for daily coverage.

As Nov. 7 approaches, election coverage on its 10 p.m. broadcast will get closer to five minutes per night, according to Tim Wieland, news director at CBS 4 News, which had the most election coverage (five stories) in my mini-study.

In addition to other election news, CBS 4 News reporter Raj Chohan's analyses of political ads (called "Reality Check") will air four or five times a week, with each segment lasting about three minutes, Wieland said.

"The reality is that we're trying to provide a balance of news," Wieland said, adding that his challenge is to present political news in "a way viewers want."

I'm glad more coverage is on the way, at least at CBS 4 News, because I hate it when local TV news does a half-assed job covering the election campaign and then goes hog wild on Election Night, with live broadcasts and breaking news updates as the polls close.

By then, it's too late to give citizens the basic information they need to function in our democracy.

9News Web site. Maybe viewers, who are disappointed with the broadcast coverage on local TV news, will pay attention to the 9News anchors' repeated suggestion to visit 9News.com for election information.

It's a great resource, as it has been in elections past - much better than the Web sites of the other Denver TV news outlets.

On the site, you can submit questions to candidates running for the major local races, and the candidates have promised to answer them. All questions and answers will be posted on the site, according to 9News reporter Adam Schrager.

Iraq Rally Snubbed. The Denver Post neglected to cover the Sept. 23 rally of about 200 people protesting the Iraq war, as part of a national anti-war effort called "Declaration of Peace." (Disclosure: a client favors Iraq withdrawal.)

A rally of a few hundred people is significant, even if it might seem boring, and, with the country at war, the Post should scrounge for local Iraq war stories.

Jason Salzman, president of Cause Communications and board chairman of Rocky Mountain Media Watch, is the author of Making the News: A Guide for Activists and Nonprofits. Reach him at .

Post your comment

Registration is required. Click here to create your free user account, or login below.

Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.




(Forgotten your password?)




News Tip

Know about something we should be reporting? Tell us about it.

Sponsored links



Reprints