New Study: Local Media Coverage of Education and Schools Is on the Rise, But Coverage of Education Policy Is Declining
New Report by Andrew Campanella, “Leading the News: 25 Years of Education Coverage,” evaluates news coverage of education and schools over 25 years.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) June 18, 2015
News about K-12 education is three times more likely to garner coverage in local, regional, and state media outlets than by the national press, according to a new study released today. (Download the study at http://www.andrewcampanella.com or on Scribd.
According to the study, in 2014, education coverage in local, regional, and state news outlets was up 7.7 percent over the average level of coverage for education stories. Nearly 7 percent of all local, regional, and state-level news coverage focuses on education and schools. Comparatively, 2.3 percent of national news stories focused on education.
The study, Leading the News: 25 Years of Education Coverage, evaluates news coverage of education from 1990 to 2014. It is the first national report to study education coverage trends over a quarter century, relying on searches of archives from more than 5,000 news sources.
The study also found that nearly 25 percent of all K-12 news stories mention school sports, events at schools, or education funding.
Despite the growth in education-oriented coverage, coverage of education policies is on the decline. Policy-oriented coverage comprised just 7.5 percent of all local, regional, and state-level K-12 education coverage. Policy topics that saw increased levels of coverage, in 2014, included education standards, school safety, and school choice.
“People in local communities are interested in what’s happening, day to day, at their local schools. This study indicates that reporters and editors at local, regional, and state level media outlets genuinely value the public’s interest in, education-related coverage,” said Andrew Campanella, the study’s lead researcher. “At the same time, it is discouraging that cutbacks in newsrooms across the country has led to an overall decline in stories focused on education policy issues.”
Leading the News: 25 Years of Education Coverage, was released by CMPA Research and can be downloaded at andrewcampanella.com.New Study: Local Media Coverage of Education and Schools Is on the Rise, But Coverage of Education Policy Is Declining - WDRB 41 Louisville News: