Citizen Newsmaker VoiceShare Among Top 10 Print Outlets
Chart shows VoiceShare of citizen newsmakers (percent of statements from citizens) in articles of the top ten print newspapers (based on statement volume per newspaper) with statements from candidates excluded from sample (red) and included (blue). Time Frame is Nov 1 – May 15.
Including candidate statements (blue), citizen VoiceShare does not rise above 20%, hovering just above 10% for the majority of the top newspapers. The worst offender among top newspapers is the Chicago Tribune, with only 5% of statements in their articles attributed to citizens when candidate statements are factored in, 12% when they aren’t.
Only articles from the Philadelphia Inquirer have over 30% of statements attributed to citizen newsmakers when candidate statements are excluded from the sample. However, this number drops down to 19% when statements from candidates are factored in. On average, when candidate statements are excluded from the sample, citizen VoiceShare increases by 7%. This tells us that a difference of 13% in the Philadelphia Inquirer means that a higher percentage of their statements are from candidates.
