Of Horse Race and Policy Issues: A Study of Gender in Coverage of a Gubernatorial Election by two Major Metropolitan Newspapers

Abstract

This study of news coverage of a gubernatorial race suggests (1) gender may be a larger factor in selection of policy stories than in selection of horse race stories; (2) coverage of the horse race, particularly news coverage of advertising strategy, appears to have greater impact on the outcome of the election than coverage of policy issues; (3) a woman will be more successful in a political race if she presents herself as a man.