For responsible election coverage, local news can lead the way
As the smoke clears from the political conventions and the nation lurches toward Nov. 3, all eyes will be on the media and the way it covers the race for the White House and congress.

Some of those eyes will be turned to bitterly partisan media that plays to its base. If you’re enamored with Sean Hannity on Fox or Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, the odds that you’re still persuadable in terms of your presidential choice are extremely low.  

That said, there is still an opportunity for media in the middle of the political spectrum (ABC, CBS, NPR) and especially local media to report the election in a responsible, bipartisan way that informs and empowers viewers rather than polarizing and angering them.

Local media are especially well-positioned to inform skeptical voters. According to a 2019 Gallup poll, 45% of Americans trust reporting by local news organizations “a great deal” or “quite a lot,” compared with 31% for national news organizations. In fact, 54% of respondents said local media did an excellent or good job of “making sure people in your local area have the knowledge they need to be informed about public affairs.” 

Local media, then, can leverage this trust to produce electoral reporting that presents reports that tell audiences what to think about, rather than what to think, in a non-partisan, balanced, and objective way. In a perusal of KC television news websites on Aug, 31, there are locally produced news stories that fit this criteria, like several from Fox 4 KC (“Two Kansas doctors but differing Covid 19 takes in Senate race”; 2020 Voter guide focuses on issues of importance for Kansas kids”; “National get out the vote campaigns cause confusion locally”). On KCTV’s website, there are a few Covid stories, but no stories directly related to the election. (However, there is lots of crime coverage). On KSHB’s site, there is an Election 2020 navigation bar at the top. On the elections page, there is a handy guide that categorized election news by subject (economy, race relations, coronavirus, etc.) There are also local stories on the Kansas senate race, and voter confusion in Johnson County. On the KMBC website, under local news, there were a few Covid stories, but no election-related news.

Exemplary, responsible local broadcast coverage can be found on KCUR 90.3fm and at KCUR.org. Recent “Up to Date” talk show segments have included reports on voting with the Missouri secretary of state, interviews with area RNC and DNC delegates, and ongoing coverage of Black Lives Matter and its impact on local and national politics. Under the local news tab on KCUR.org, there is an Election 2020 header that has useful information on how to vote absentee or in advance, and a “meet the candidates” story on those running for a Missouri state senate seat.

While there is a lot of good information out there, both local and national media can better serve the public by downplaying the ubiquitous and ultimately unproductive flood of stories about which candidate is ahead in the latest poll. A study of the 2016 presidential campaign by the Harvard Shorenstein Center found that, in five major newspapers, “almost half of each candidate’s coverage focused on the horse race (43% for Hillary Clinton and 42% for Donald Trump), much more than was devoted to their policy stands (9% for Clinton and 12% for Trump).” 

Horse race coverage, according to Harvard University researcher and professor Dr. Thomas Patterson, is linked to an uninformed electorate as well as distrust in politicians and media outlets. In addition, such coverage shortchanges female candidates who rely on policy positions to build credibility, and third party candidates who aren’t seen as legitimate. (Link)

Finally, recognizing the increasing political polarization, the responsible journalist would give a voice to the politically voiceless—in this case, the moderates and compromisers, instead of exclusively spotlighting the extreme, divisive voices on either end of the political spectrum.

So while we can’t expect much to change on cable TV, local media particularly can play an important role in producing a more thoughtful, and less emotional and reflexively partisan, electorate.