Sourcing and Framing the 2012 Battle for the White House: A Student Media Analysis

Abstract

<p>Communication research has largely neglected a type of news organization whose editorial output has potentially far-reaching and indelible effects both on its receivers and its creators: student newspapers. In contrast, coverage of the presidential election cycle is widely studied by scholars. Drawing on scholarship on framing, sourcing, and bias in election coverage, this content analysis seeks to study student newspapers by examining them in the context of the 2012 presidential election. The analysis of college newspapers in three swing states found that election stories in these newspapers focus more on human interest and issue coverage than their professional counterparts, are more neutral in tone, and are more richly sourced.</p>