Media (Mis)Representations of Education in the 2000 Presidential Election

Abstract

Because most voters increasingly use the media as their primary source of information, their role in electoral politics is key to the functioning of a democracy. One of the top issues in the 2000 presidential election campaign was the candidates' views of educational issues. Using discourse analysis, the author examined how the media coverage of the 2000 presidential campaign operated as an arena of discourse. The author's analysis of the major television, newspaper, and radio coverage showed that the media, at best, represent shallow depictions of educational issues, which tend to be tightly controlled by how candidates define educational problems. These representations of education in the media tend to reinforce and reflect public assumptions that America 's educational system is failing. Only rarely did the major news media report educators 'concerns about how educational problems were being represented or the concerns of minority groups. By excluding alternative viewpoints, the author asserts that media (mis)representations hinder democracy.