An interesting study from the US which suggests that American voter interests match Australian voters in wanting policy discussed. The Trends in Australian Political Opinion discovered that 49% of Australian voters use policy to guide who they cast their ballot for.
Ars Technica in discussing how media commentary of politics is the same as sports coverage linked to an article on the Project for Journalistic Excellence which discussed how media coverage was at odds with what people want covered. A Pew Research poll shows that 77% of Americans wanted more coverage of the candidates positions on issues.
From the article:
The press' focus on fundraising, tactics and polling is even more evident if one looks at how stories were framed rather than the topic of the story. Just 12% of stories examined were presented in a way that explained how citizens might be affected by the election, while nearly nine-out-of-ten stories (86%) focused on matters that largely impacted only the parties and the candidates. Those numbers, incidentally, match almost exactly the campaign-centric orientation of coverage found on the eve of the primaries eight years ago. All of these findings seem to be at sharp variance with what the public says it wants from campaign reporting. A new poll by The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press conducted for this report finds that about eight-in-ten of Americans say they want more coverage of the candidates' stances on issues, and majorities want more on the record and personal background, and backing of the candidates, more about lesser-known candidates and more about debates.Supposedly the media should be giving its customers what they want but this suggests that they are not. It is probably why the blogosphere has risen in its ability to explore politics in a more detailed manner. The blogosphere has its echo-chambers of course, but for policy discussion it is far and away superior to the mainstream media.
