Newspaper Reporters' Perception of City Government Coverage in 1997, 2007

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Despite predictions of the death of American newspapers,1 more than 1,400 U.S. dailies continued to publish in 2007 with a total circulation of more than 52 million copies per day.2 These newspapers serve as forums for communities where ideas, public policies and public affairs are presented, exchanged and debated. This process is underlined by the fact that newspaper reporters and officials share an interest in communicating information to the public.3 However, the newspaper industry continues to cut reporting staffs as circulation and advertising revenue decline.4 A question that emerges is how staff cuts are affecting coverage of hall. To address this question, hall reporters at 104 daily newspapers were asked to evaluate their newspaper's coverage of hall.Because this study attempts to replicate a 1997 survey, data from two time periods can be compared to evaluate reporters' perceptions of hall coverage. A comparison that encompasses 10 years may allow for more precise analysis of trends in government coverage.Literature ReviewNewspapers long have been associated with community commitment. 5 Research shows attention to local news in a newspaper promotes political participation and enhances political knowledge.6 Scholars also have found that reading local newspapers increases the likelihood of reader participation in the community.7 These findings were reinforced in a 2007 national study that found that young people who read newspapers in school and interact with newspaper content aimed at teens were more likely to volunteer, vote and engage in civic expression as adults.8Despite the importance of newspapers in civic engagement, little research has focused on the hall beat. A 1997 survey by Lacy, Coulson and St. Cyr examined the impact of beat competition on hall coverage and found that newspaper competition affected such coverage.9 In a related article derived from the 1997 survey, the hall reporters said they believed their newspapers were doing a good job of covering the beat. The respondents reported that slightly fewer reporters covered hall in 1997 than had covered the beat five years before and that space for hall news remained about the same.10 Reporter responses varied by circulation size in 1997. The authors concluded that city hall reporters at large newspapers were less likely than their counterparts at smaller dailies to feel that their papers were committed to covering local government.11Research QuestionsThis study used questions from the 1997 questionnaire to examine 2007 hall coverage and whether it has changed during the past 10 years. To that end, the following questions were addressed.RQ1:How do hall reporters evaluate their daily newspapers' front page coverage of and amount of space given to government?RQ2:Do hall reporters think their newspapers' hall coverage has changed during the past five years?RQ3:Do hall reporters' perceptions of their newspapers' government coverage vary with the circulation of the newspaper?RQ4:Do hall reporters' evaluations of their newspapers' government coverage differ from the reporters' evaluations in 1997?MethodResearchers identified 244 daily newspapers in the central cities of 214 television areas of dominant influence (ADIs)12 and visited newspaper Internet sites to identify reporters who cover government.13 The researchers found the names for reporters at 238 newspapers out of the 244 and had to send six questionnaires addressed to city hall reporter. Ten randomly selected reporters received questionnaires in a pretest.14In May 2007, questionnaires were mailed to 234 reporters after the pretest reporters were subtracted. A follow-up postcard was mailed two weeks later to reporters who had not responded. Two weeks after the postcard, another packet was mailed to reporters who had not responded. …