Tag Results for Senate

From increased truck sales to action figures to a genealogical link to President Obama. Can the media find any more angles on the new Senator?  Now that’s he’s on the job, will the coverage change?

With the primaries for the U.S. Senate now behind us, I’m starting to hear rumblings about a third candidate in the race — Joe Kennedy (photo). No, he’s not the former congressman. Rather, he’s an independent who says his views “are closely aligned with the Libertarian Party.”

Thus the media’s perpetual dilemma. Do they cover someone who poses absolutely no threat either to Democratic candidate Martha Coakley or Republican Scott Brown? Or do they ignore him and face accusations of bias in favor of the two major parties?

Such matters should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Kennedy did have to get 10,000 signatures, just like Coakley and Brown. But the majors had to test themselves in contested primaries. Kennedy, by contrast, automatically won a spot on the ballot. It hardly seems right to put him on an equal footing.

I’d also draw a contrast between Kennedy’s candidacy and those of past longshot candidates who represented actual political parties. In recent years, the Green and Libertarian parties have briefly enjoyed major-party status thanks to the appeal of strong candidates like Jill Stein and Carla Howell, respectively. In situations like those, attention must be paid. But Kennedy is not a third-party candidate; he’s a no-party candidate.

Kennedy deserves some coverage, but certainly not equal coverage. And I’d invite him to the first televised debate. If he registers in subsequent poll results and can raise some money, then he’ll deserve to be taken seriously. If not, then the media shouldn’t be blamed for focusing on candidates who actually have some chance of winning.

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This week, Jack E. Robinson announced he is in the race for the U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts. However, media coverage of his announcement was sparse. How does media coverage determine the viability of a candidate? And does it define a candidate’s ability to win an election?

With a December primary and an election in January, the clock is ticking to fill Ted Kennedy's vacant Senate seat. Even though Joe Kennedy bowed out of the race already, there are still plenty of declared and undeclared candidates from Martha Coakley to Curt Schilling to talk about. In other words, it's an exciting time for both the candidates and the local press.

US Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, has filed a bill that would make it easier for newspapers to go non-profit. He says its about saving community newspapers. Critics call it a bailout.