To gauge what role the media played in targeting young voters, this study examines the content of the early evening newscasts on Iowa's three major television stations in the month leading up to the 2004 presidential election. Content analysis of 285 campaign news stories shows limited (3.2%) focus on youth, little explicit mention of youth (6%), and rare use of youth as sources in the news (6.3%). However, these findings are much higher than previous content analysis of youth in the 2000 campaign. Results show that television appears not to target young voters and that young voters use Internet and interpersonal channels for political information.
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