The Presidency and Local Media: Local Newspaper Coverage of President

Presidents increasingly bypass the filter of national media and take their message on the road to appeal to local audiences through local news outlets. We examine local newspaper coverage of President George W. Bush in 2003. Presumably, the president would enjoy mostly positive coverage from local newspapers. Yet, we demonstrate substantial variation in local news coverage, with community support for the president being a primary predictor of whether he will receive positive coverage. We also find that stories on the Iraq War contributed to negative coverage, even at the local level. We conclude with commentary on the utility of presidents ’ local media strategy in light of our findings. Leading the media, public, and Congress through speeches is at the core of modern presidential governance. But just as the modern political environment requires presidents to appeal for support through speeches, presidents are increasingly unable to cultivate public opinion. Presidents who attempt to lead the nation are faced with a public that tunes out the president’s prime-time addresses (Baum and Kernell 1999) and a new