Content Analysis

As the role of traditional media declines, skeptics of new media worry that the news available about local, state and national politics will decline with it. I recently had a conversation with a family friend who expressed his concern that city governments will become rampant with corruption as the newspapers that hold local leaders accountable disappear.

But do newspapers really provide a significant amount of local, state and national political news? Will citizens miss out if one day they’re gone?

Our citizens and media class set out to answer these questions by conducting a content analysis of six North Carolina newspapers – The Winston-Salem Journal, The Fayetteville Observer, The Greensboro News & Record, The Wilmington Star-News, The Charlotte Observer and The Raleigh Observer. We analyzed editions of each paper from Jan. 30 to Feb. 13.

I didn’t have very high expectations for the number of political news articles, especially local and state stories. As a Charlottean, I have witnessed the increasing skimpiness The Charlotte Observer over the past year and the rise in Associated Press articles. However, the results of the content analysis still surprised me.

Out of 84 newspaper editions, 6.4% of the articles were about local government and politics. 5.1% were about state politics and government. 10.8% were about national politics and government. Meanwhile, a whopping 27.1% of the articles were about sports.

Don’t worry. I don’t think newspaper readers in these communities are going about their daily activities with nothing but basketball scores and tournament schedules on their minds. 50.6% of the total number of articles fell under the “other” category. This included stories that can be very informative, such as articles about police activity, court cases, businesses and international events.

As I conducted my part of the analysis, I noticed a large number of entertainment articles. I was assigned several editions published over the weekend. Three of the five editions I analyzed included additional weekend sections, such as The Fayetteville Observer’s “Saturday Extra.” The Winston-Salem Journal included a section on food in their Feb. 3 edition and The Charlotte Observer even had a two-page Sci-Tech section on Feb. 8.

There is something to be said for entertainment news. The reviews of movies, restaurants and plays can be useful for citizens to make decisions about how to spend their cherished leisure time. Stories about community events, such as festivals and upcoming speakers, can inform readers about activities they wouldn’t otherwise attend.

Nevertheless, political news has great importance. Articles about the government hold representatives accountable and inform citizens so that they can make decisions about their leaders. But, according to our content analysis, political news, particularly local and state, is not a top priority for these six North Carolina newspapers.

The local and state political news focused on controversy, which is to be expected. After all, controversy attracts readers. The Raleigh News & Observer included several articles about the Wake County Schools heated debate about busing. Another article in The Wilmington Star-News reported the questionable campaign funds used by a local politician. One article about the John Edwards’ sex tape scandal had the prime combination of entertainment and politics.

The Wilmington Star-News was by far the most comprehensive paper in terms of local news. 9.1% of its articles covered local politics and government. In the edition I analyzed on Feb. 11, most of the local political articles were about the upcoming election. I was impressed to find an additional article about a town board’s budgeting and the policies of the Topsail Beach town board – not exactly what I would deem riveting topics.

Nevertheless, less than 10% of the paper covered local politics, and the other five publications were far behind. The Charlotte Observer, which had the second largest percentage of local political news, covered local government in 6.7% of its articles.

So where do citizens go for local political news apart from the newspaper’s meager coverage of elections and hot topics? Are they getting any news about their local governments at all?

The increasing number of microlocal blogs may be the answer. Don Evans and Nancy Oates, the bloggers of Chapel Hill Watch, a blog that covers the town government in Chapel Hill, spoke to our class on Thursday. They regularly attend Town Council meetings and post information citizens need to make decisions about their local leaders. Evans said their presence at the meetings lets town officials know that they are serious about their reporting. According to a Newsweek article, community news blogs like Chapel Hill Watch are on the rise.

Other local government news sources include Google groups, such as Carrboro Media, and citizen-driven blogs like OrangePolitics.

Because new media cover smaller communities than newspapers, stories that might seem insignificant to a larger newspaper audience are important to the site’s visitors. As a result, blogs and other online sources have found their niche putting the focus back on local government.