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Flashlight Coverage

State News on National Broadcasts

University of Illinois

Content analysis of the early evening national newscasts on ABC, CBS, and NBC from July 1985 to June 1987 reveals that the New Federalism has failed to focus national media attention on state issues. State news was extremely sparse, spotlighted a small number of states, and lacked political substance. Disaster, crime, and trivia stories prevailed. A parallel content analysis of state news covered by the New York Times indicates that newsworthy political stories were plentiful so that much better coverage of this important aspect of American politics was possible. When population is used as a yardstick of political significance, the concerns of midwesterners received the least attention while the Pacific region dominated in television as well as in print news. Compared to news broadcasts in the seventies, media attention has shifted from the Northeastern and New England regions to the West and Southwest, possibly contributing to the economic decline of Rust Belt states. State news coverage during presidential campaigns suggests ways for increasing coverage at other times.

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