Should media cover elections better, or leave advertisements to inform?
Elaine Shein Capital Press Executive Editor Editorial Friday, January 12, 2007 What will it take to get better election coverage on TV? Different projects have examined just how much – or little – TV stations covered elections, politicians and the issues compared to how much they just allow political ads to influence voters. Statistics as well as the attitude of broadcasters show that unfortunately the TV stations feel little responsibility toward helping voters be more informed on who and what gets their votes. Various reports that came out about this were initially largely ignored or buried in mainstream media coverage, but it might be tougher to ignore them. A public interest law firm called Media Access Project has begun to file petitions with the Federal Communications Commission in different parts of the country asking that certain television stations not get their licenses renewed. In Portland, a group called the Money in Politics Research Action Project filed such a petition to
