With the 2012 election quickly approaching, I was sure the Times-Picayune would provide extensive coverage on the candidates and any upcoming events. Was I wrong.
Saturday
Not one story concerning the election was present on the homepage Saturday morning. Sports, local elections and entertainment all covered the top stories section. I changed the category to politics and still no presidential election coverage showed.
I did some more searching under the news tab and politics and elections section. It was not until I reached the second page that national political stories started to appear.
The first story concerned Hilary Clinton and her remarks about the Arab world's emerging democracies. Under it, the first presidential election story that I saw on the website. The article was a follow-up on the recent vice presidential debate that took place earlier this week. It focused on remarks that Paul Ryan made concerning his plan for Medicare.
Page three under the politics and elections section provided a few more presidential stories. The majority responded and analyzed the debate. One, unrelated to the debate, assessed the presidential candidates and their views on certain topics.
Sunday
I went back to the Times-Picayune website on Sunday to see if any new political stories emerged. The coverage was not any better. Only one new story appeared concerning the election. It was a relatively short article written by the Associated Press, not the Times-Picayune, explaining why President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were taking a break from the campaign trail on Sunday, prior to their second debate.
Monday
A day before the presidential debate, the media outlet provided one more story concerning the election. This article was audience-centered and asked their readers to vote on what topics they would like the candidates to speak about during the debate. It briefly outlined the format of the debate before refering back to the outcome of their first one.
I was disappointed by the lack of coverage the Times-Picayune provided on the upcoming presidential election. The media outlet focuses their effort on local politics instead of national coverage. With only three weeks until voters return to the polls, the media outlet needs to step up their game during these final weeks to provide readers with adequate coverage of the candidates and issues surrounding this election.
Saturday
Not one story concerning the election was present on the homepage Saturday morning. Sports, local elections and entertainment all covered the top stories section. I changed the category to politics and still no presidential election coverage showed.
I did some more searching under the news tab and politics and elections section. It was not until I reached the second page that national political stories started to appear.
The first story concerned Hilary Clinton and her remarks about the Arab world's emerging democracies. Under it, the first presidential election story that I saw on the website. The article was a follow-up on the recent vice presidential debate that took place earlier this week. It focused on remarks that Paul Ryan made concerning his plan for Medicare.
Page three under the politics and elections section provided a few more presidential stories. The majority responded and analyzed the debate. One, unrelated to the debate, assessed the presidential candidates and their views on certain topics.
Sunday
I went back to the Times-Picayune website on Sunday to see if any new political stories emerged. The coverage was not any better. Only one new story appeared concerning the election. It was a relatively short article written by the Associated Press, not the Times-Picayune, explaining why President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were taking a break from the campaign trail on Sunday, prior to their second debate.
Monday
A day before the presidential debate, the media outlet provided one more story concerning the election. This article was audience-centered and asked their readers to vote on what topics they would like the candidates to speak about during the debate. It briefly outlined the format of the debate before refering back to the outcome of their first one.
I was disappointed by the lack of coverage the Times-Picayune provided on the upcoming presidential election. The media outlet focuses their effort on local politics instead of national coverage. With only three weeks until voters return to the polls, the media outlet needs to step up their game during these final weeks to provide readers with adequate coverage of the candidates and issues surrounding this election.