I was talking to a candidate last week in one of the high-profile 2010 races. Campaign coverage has just about evaporated in this candidate's state, I was told, because there are so few reporters left, and those who are still around have bigger priorities, especially this far out from Election Day. As a result, it's hard for the campaigns to get any traction with messages or story lines, and voters are much less engaged.
If coverage is scant for Congressional candidates think about how state legislative or county commissioner races must be fairing? And those have a far more direct impact on the daily lives of the average citizen than Congress does. Just a hunch but I'm guessing that low coverage is good news for incumbents who have built in name recognition.
1 comment:
"If coverage is scant for Congressional candidates think about how state legislative or county commissioner races must be fairing?"
If towns across America are anything like the small town I live in, then they're fairing quite well. As you state in your blog, these elections can often effect people more than national level campaigns. Small towns know this and look after themselves when it comes to coverage. Articles in the small town newspaper dealing with local elections where I live (which appear often) set off a firestorm of on-line comments and coffee shop discussions. When water, open space, local taxes/fees and other locally minded issues are at stake, voters pay attention and the newspaper knows that sells copy.
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