Media Coverage: How Education News Affects Public Perceptions and Policymaking

If you're interested in a more academic take on how education issues get reported in the news -- and how the coverage affects policymaking -- take a look at this (PDF) 1999 University of Chicago study passed along recently by my friend David Mayrowetz, federal policy guru at the UIC School of Education.

It's not new, it's not national, and I'm sure my journalistic betters will take issue (as they have in the past -- unfortunately most of the time on a private listserve), but the study makes some interesting and relevant points about (a) the predominance of news coverage focused on the actions of the central administration, (b) the convergence of opinions and coverage even in a two-newspaper town like Chicago, and (c) the possible impact on policymaking decisions in education by education reporters who choose which issues to report and how to report them.

Most recent post on media coverage: Is Daily Education Coverage a "Closed Conversation"?