Walter Shapiro, writing after swings through Kentucky and South Carolina, raises the caution flag for his profession.
What we are witnessing in this election cycle is the slow death of traditional statewide campaign journalism. I noticed the same pattern (and the same nearly reporter-free campaign trail) in Kentucky last month as I covered libertarian Rand Paul’s decisive defeat of the state Republican establishment in the GOP Senate primary. Aside from an occasional AP reporter, virtually the only print journalists whom I encountered at campaign events were my national press-pack colleagues from the New York Times, the Washington Post, Politico and the Atlantic Monthly.
Newspapers like the Louisville Courier-Journal and The State, South Carolina’s largest paper, have dramatically de-emphasized in-depth candidate coverage because they are too short-handed to spare the reporters. A survey by the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) found that newsroom staffs across the country have declined by 25 percent since 2001.
A Kentucky Democratic strategist (who did not want his name used for fear of antagonizing the state’s remaining political journalists) put it this way: “The newspapers are gutted – and everybody who is left is doing three other jobs. As a result, it feels like there is little accountability for candidates about what they say. It’s cover at 2:30 and file at 4:30 without thought or research.”
For those who think political reporters do little more than cover the horse race and cry wolf for ratings, this will not be a concern. But consider that this is also good news for political consultants, who are in the business of distorting reality for the electorate. The field is that much more clear. Read Shapiro’s entire story here at Politics Daily.