Journalism--Political aspects--United States

The ways in which local newspapers select those actors who will be quoted in their stories has a profound effect on the local policy-making process. In stadium development issues, it is theorized that the media has a pro-growth bias because it has a vested interest in expanding its readership and it relies on institutional sources at the expense of community actors in part because of its increased need to maximize efficiency in its news gathering routines. The results are inconclusive on whether or not a growth bias exists but definitive in its illustration of the over-reliance on governmental sources. The result is that latent and/or actual community opposition to the stadium development issue is ignored in lieu of institutional complaints and the true sentiment of the public is not presented in the public arena.

This essay examines rhetoric regarding Katherine Harris and Hillary Clinton published in three national newspapers during a critical point in each woman's political career. By using the methods of content analysis and feminist rhetorical critique, it was found that national newspapers construct an image of political women as power-hungry "bitches" with poor taste in fashion who are accustomed to getting what they want and will stop at nothing to do so. Thus, it appears that patriarchal biases continue to shape the foundation of political reporters. Given that most Americans gather their knowledge of politics through the media, this thesis argues that the messages in these newspapers may have an effect on the public's opinions of the qualifications for women in the political arena.