New Blood: Does the Media Cover ALL the Candidates?

"The first battle of any political campaign is name recognition. Voters usually give the candidate which has been presented with the most thorough and most favorable reportage greatest consideration. This is reflected in the comparison of the percent of representation received by minor parties and the of the votes received by these groups in an election. After receiving less than 1% of the news coverage in 1988, the minor political candidates acquired 0.9% of the popular vote. In 1984 the minor politicians received slightly less publicity and as a result, received less of the vote, 0.7%." OH

"Voters often say they wish they had more choices. Many times there are more choices. The media ignores them in order to spotlight more popular candidates." AR

"This election there were a lot more than six or seven candidates. Most were practically unknown. The media never told us about them. As Americans we have the right to see and hear from all of the candidates for the most important job in the country. We also, as Americans, have the right to decide for ourselves whether we want to vote for Joe Blow or George Bush." CA

"Libertarian, Andre Mourou, one of the 14 candidates on the Wisconsin ballot, had his name on the ballot in 50 states but felt cheated by receiving little campaign coverage while the media focused on Perot, Bush, and Clinton . . . . Focusing on more non-Democrat and non-Republican candidates may be another way for the media to put more focus on the issues also." WI

"Usually, a collective opinion can be formed about the party, but only if they are Democrats or Republicans. Any third parties that form are not usually recognized. Often, we aren't even aware that they exist until we vote. I don't think we can choose the right person out of all the candidates if only the select two are known about." IL

"The media covers only the candidates it believes are important. It does not usually give an array of information concerning all candidates. The media focuses all its attention on the most popular candidates. . . . If a powerful political party backs a candidate, then the newspapers, television, radio and magazines will contribute more of their time to publishing articles about that party's candidate." VA

"If Joe Schmoe enters the race between two popular candidates, he may not win . . . or even receive one vote, but he might force the candidates to address a topic which could decide the race between the two popular candidates. These no-name candidates can be and often could be crucial parts in the campaigns of future presidents, senators and so on. Therefore, the media should be forced to inform the American people of all of the candidates whether or not they will be a major vote receiver." OH

"There is . . . a growing tendency of the media to forget about candidates with less money and therefore less of a chance for election . . . candidates outside the mainstream are typically ignored . . . Balanced reporting becomes difficult when there are minor party candidates in the race. The media believe they will get few votes. Do the media believe they deserve an equal share of the coverage? Most stations will offer some coverage, but not equal coverage. These candidates certainly should not be ignored; that way predictions about their poor showings in the election become self-fulfilling. Again, this is not fair to the candidates, but it is even less fair to the voters. The electorate should be informed of each candidate running for any office. The media should not be allowed to select the candidates they feel are the best for the job . . . The people must be informed of all possible candidates so that they themselves can determine who is best for the job." KS

"It seems as though the media decides to have a preliminary election of their own to decide which candidates should be presented to America . . . The media should give all presidential candidates a forum to address important issues. There is a need for more media coverage on lesser known candidates. . . In a country where free education is available there must be more than two or three people suitable to run it. If more television coverage of the obscure candidates was offered, Americans could find a candidate with whom they shared many views." CA

"Every election year there are many candidates who get little or no coverage. Do these candidates truly wish to remain low-key, or do they just get lost in the media shuffle? Are our reporters really the ones to blame for this injustice, or is it the lack of campaigning by each of the unknown candidates? I certainly don't think it's the media." NE

"I think that the media decides to cover candidates that are popular and recognized by the public. The media doesn't want to cover candidates that are unknown because their ratings go down." OK

"Only candidates judged to have the strongest chances of victory are ever covered; third-party and independent challengers (unless, like Ross Perot, they have $3 billion to spend on their run) are almost completely ignored. The people of the United States deserve knowledge about all of their choices for political office. Can they win? Who is to say? Exposure to a range of ideas enlivens American democracy and generates serious debate. Favoritism should be restricted to the editorial pages, the only place where it is appropriate." AR

"Some reporters are kind enough to view minor parties and independent political figures as a means for launching new ideas into the political system, but do not recognize them as a viable choice for office. . . . Alternative party and indpendent choices for political office are defeated by a lack of unbiased coverage. These candidates' receive scant, damaging representation. As a result, the political system of America is threatened to be forever dominated by today's two major parties. In order for these groups and individuals to ever be acknowledged as serious political figures, the Amercian media must first (change). . .." OH

"When it comes to news, television stations should have to cover all of the candidates. . . When stations are allowed to promote only 'winning' candidates, they cheat the people of the United States. I put the word winning in quotations because they are the only candidates who really get the publicity. I say that the people of the United States are cheated because they only get to see the candidates that are chosen by the stations. Instead of seeing all of the candidates, they will only see prechosen ones." MN

". . . some office seekers receive little or no coverage from the press, while at the same time, their competitors may always find themselves in the spotlight. This creates a very unfair advantage for the one whose views are covered, because most voters are unwilling to risk their votes on someone they know nothing about." IL

"Members of the media harm the lesser candidates by suggesting that they should not be taken seriously." OH

"The 1992 elections started out with over 250 people who actually ran for president. Of course, we never heard about the last 235 or so, mostly because they had no ability to gain popularity. Some ran because they were so politically discouraged with our country that they tried to take matters into their own hands." MD

"After watching the news for several weeks, we (government class) found that out of the eight candidates for the Illinois Senate, only three were ever mentioned." IL

"The United States was publicly introduced to three candidates for the presidency in the election of 1992. However, surprisingly to many, there were at least six other . . . legitimate candidates placed on the presidential ballot who have never before been mentioned by the media. Although it has been said that money does not matter, these unknown candidates were denied the privilege of publicity because they could not afford the 'air time.' Federal revenues from taxpayers should be equally distributed to the candidates, not the party, allowing them to be covered by the media. The United States might have been deprived of 'the right man for the job' merely as a result of lack of funds for advertisement." CA

"Media devices should prepare profiles of all national candidates. The profiles should include the candidate's name, party, views on issues and (proposed) solutions to problems. If a person meets certain qualifications, it is his/her right to run for a national office. If people have the right to run for an office, they also have the right to inform voters of their ideas for the future." MN

"It is the media journalists who discriminate the likely winners from the losers and accordingly distribute the news coverage on each candidate. In this way, they have a major impact on the outcomes of elections, as candidates will not receive strong support or endorsements until they begin to win - until they receive the news coverage and public recognition seen fit by the media . . . The role of the media should be to promote fair elections by providing equal news coverage of all legitimate candidates for national office. Every man or woman qualified to be on a ballot deserves to have his or her views and opinions publicized..." NH

"A television station, newspaper or magazine should run a story or an article on each one of that candidate's opponents, if at all possible. It is necessary for the media, whatever form it is in, to cover every person running for a national office equally. If this were done the American voter would have a wider selection . . ." NE

". . . the media only tries to cover those candidates which can be elected. It would be a waste of time to cover every unheard of candidate with an opinion. But how should the media decide which candidates are electable and are thereby worth covering? Are only those who have the backing of a major political party or who have endless financial resources electable? SD

"In writing this paper, I asked seven adults who voted in this year's election about the other candidates. Many of these adults were shocked to be informed about the other candidates and were angry that the press had not given equal coverage to all of the candidates." NY

"The media decides what is and is not newsworthy. If the media decides not to give a certain candidate a great deal of coverage, the voter can only assume that that candidate doesn't really do, or stand for anything." MD

"An example is the case of Democratic presidential candidate Larry Agran. The national press hardly ever reported on his campaign; when his name did appear, he was described as a 'dark horse,' a 'fringe candidate,' or 'an obscure contender.' When he was allowed to participate in forums with the 'major candidates,' he was often left out of news reports of the events or asked by press photographers to step aside. Agran had been told by news media executives that he had not earned the right to media exposure because, among other things, he had not received enough media exposure. A case such as this one proves that the media is not fair to the public. The people in this country have a right to know who all of the national candidates are and receive information about each and every one of them." OH

"But what about the other candidates, such as Andre Morrou? Did the media cover his story, his interviews, or his trips to McDonalds? I believe not!" NY

"I believe that the media should cover all the candidates that are running for a particular office, regardless of whether or not they belong to a specific political party. The public should be well informed about all of their choices for a particular political office. . . Many people may be disgusted with all the controversy surrounding the Democratic and Republican candidates and want to vote for a clean, neutral candidate." MA

"The media is not interested in a loser, and a third-party candidate is seen as having no chance for election to national office." IL

". . . when the public is provided with an equal amount of information about each candidate, each then is on a level plain and receive a fair and accurate chance to become elected. This also proves advantageous to the unknown candidate. A newcomer may have interesting and popular views that can be uncovered by equal and fair reporting." PA

". . . Then when our high school mock election was held, I noticed the other two parties and wondered who they were. I had never heard them mentioned at all before. Why weren't the other two parties given their fair share of explaining their views and goals? Some people might have voted for one of the other two parties had they known what they supported and believed." PA