PRESIDENTIAL RACE ISN'T THE ONLY RACE

By: Todd Shields E&P's Weekly Campaign Confidential Report





WASHINGTON - The nation may be focused on the presidential election, but there are plenty of legislative and gubernatorial campaigns to claim the attention of the public - and reporters.



In Minnesota, newspapers are feasting upon a particularly busy race. The 4th Congressional District features three major candidates, including a well-known independent who has the blessing of mediagenic independent Gov. Jesse Ventura. Not only that, the Republican and Democratic candidates are women, and Minnesota has not sent a woman to Congress since the 1950s.



"It'll be historic" if either major-party candidate wins, said Curt Brown, a reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. An independent candidate's victory would be taken as evidence the unconventional Ventura has coattails.



Brown, 40, jams multiple-candidate forums into his schedule as a St. Paul-based general-assignment reporter. He also has found time for a sitdown with each candidate over a cup of coffee or a piece of pie.



Brown's work led to profiles of each candidate that ran on local news fronts last week - and to a realization that often strikes reporters who closely follow candidates. "After a while," Brown said, "you hear pretty much the same thing."



On being fair



We are determined to keep our coverage of the news - especially an election campaign - as fair, unbiased, and nonpartisan as humanly possible. Our determination is not always clear to readers, however. Coverage of a candidate whose campaign is going well can appear to be favorable to that candidate, and coverage of a campaign that is stumbling can appear unfavorable to that candidate.



- Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. in a signed editorial Oct. 25



On being seen to be fair



Voters generally believe the media have been fair to both major presidential candidates, but more say the press has been fair to Democrat Al Gore (74%) than say it has been fair to Republican George W. Bush (65%). Those results come from a poll conducted in early October for the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.



Bipolar disorder



Even the most dispassionate, nonpartisan observer of campaign 2000 might feel a little chagrined on behalf of Ralph Nader. Politically 'apathetic' youth pay to attend his rallies ... yet, the mainstream press still react with jaw-clenching bipolarity: There's Gore and there's Bush, there's Bush and there's Gore, there's Gore and there's ...


- Media analyst Trevor Butterworth in an Oct. 23 posting on the Web site NewsWatch.org







Past Campaign Confidential reports from E&P:



DETROIT PAPER PROVIDES VOTER EDUCATION WITH AP REPORT (10/23/00)

SUNSHINE STATE GETS IN THE PRESIDENTIAL GAME (10/16/00)

CANDIDATES KEEP OHIO PRESS CORPS BUSY (10/09/00)







Copyright 2000, Editor & Publisher.