Question 1

What is the main topic covered by local television news?

Accepted Answer

The main topic covered by local television news is typically crimes and accidents. This focus is due to the immediate impact and viewer interest these stories often generate, making them a staple of local news coverage.

Question 2

Local news coverage of elections is mostly about ______.

Accepted Answer

Local news coverage of elections often focuses on the "horse race," emphasizing who is winning or losing rather than in-depth analysis of candidate traits, policy positions, or voter group dynamics.

Question 3

Local newspapers are dying out across the country; this trend was especially pronounced between 2000 and 2014.

Accepted Answer

Many local newspapers have indeed been struggling or closing, particularly in this timeframe, due to a combination of factors including the rise of digital media, declining advertising revenues, and changing consumer habits.

Question 4

Local reporters typically have less education and experience than their national counterparts.

Accepted Answer

Local reporters typically cover smaller geographic areas and have less access to resources than national reporters. As a result, they may have less education and experience.

Question 5

Local reporters have less adversarial relationships with local public officials than national correspondents have with officials in national government.

Accepted Answer

Local reporters often rely on maintaining good relationships with local public officials for access to information and ongoing coverage, leading to less adversarial interactions compared to national correspondents who cover national government officials and are part of larger media organizations with broader scrutiny and investigative resources.

Question 6

State politics tends to get more coverage and better coverage than local politics.

Accepted Answer

Local politics often receives more direct coverage in local media outlets because it directly affects the lives of the community members, whereas state politics might receive broader but not necessarily better coverage, as it is often overshadowed by national issues in major media outlets.

Question 7

When covering national news or crises, local news outlets often use a local angle.

Accepted Answer

Local news outlets frequently focus on how national news or crises impact their specific audience or region, providing a local perspective to engage their viewers or readers more directly.

Question 8

Subnational election coverage by local news outlets tends to be regularly provided and of high quality.

Accepted Answer

Local news outlets often struggle with resources and staffing, leading to less frequent and sometimes lower quality coverage of subnational elections compared to national elections.

Question 9

Heavy local news emphasis on crime has the negative consequence of making audiences overestimate their likelihood of being a victim of crime.

Accepted Answer

Studies have shown that heavy exposure to crime news can lead to a phenomenon known as the "mean world syndrome," where people perceive the world as more dangerous than it actually is, thus overestimating their risk of becoming a victim of crime.

Question 10

What are some of the implications from the changing media grid-the movement away from media market and political boundary overlap?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are some of the implications from...

Question 11

What are the six media styles commonly found among subnational political figures?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the six media styles commonly...

Question 12

What are some of the reasons metropolitan journalists cover the inner city while neglecting the surrounding areas?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are some of the reasons metropolitan...

Question 13

Why does local news lend itself to tabloidization even more than other news?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why does local news lend itself to...

Question 14

Why is crime news so prevalent?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why is crime news so prevalent?...

Question 15

What are the various reasons state news receives the least amount of attention from journalists and news organizations? Discuss both the news media factors and government institutional factors at play. What are the implications?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the various reasons state news...

Question 16

If all politics is local, how does local coverage of local candidates measure up? What are the implications for local governance and an informed citizenry?

Accepted Answer

The answer of If all politics is local, how does...

Quiz 9: State and Local News Coverage