Near the end, only numbers matter

An article posted online at Startribune.com on Sunday night reported on a debate between the three candidates. The article titled "Tough talk from candidates adds bite to latest gubernatorial debate" seemed to focus on Horner's attacks at opposing candidates, Emmer and Dayton. Whether or not the attacks are actually accurate, Horner got some major attention from them. 


View complete article here. 

As the election comes closer and closer, the candidates are doing everything but wrapping things up. As my professor discussed in class, the last week of the election is the most crucial. Candidates and their campaign managers are working to secure as many votes as possible. As for the news coverage, horse race coverage and last debates are the focus. 


An article posted earlier Sunday morning focused on horse race coverage with the report of the latest poll results. The online article was fairly lengthy for a report on poll results and included several graphic images to help display and convey the results of the poll. 

Months of negative ads appear to have taken a toll on all three candidates, with their unfavorable ratings ticking up as the assaults mount.

According to the poll, the number of voters who view Emmer and Horner unfavorably now exceeds the number who view them favorably.

About 48 percent of Minnesotans view Dayton favorably, compared to 41 percent for Emmer and 32 percent for Horner.

Besides reporting the results, the article included several quotes from voters. The quotes may be persuasive for those who are still undecided and may possibly help a candidate receive more (or less) votes. 

"I just think he has a really good feel for what Minnesotans need and want, and he will work for us," Annette Contos, of Fergus Falls, said of Dayton.

The 72-year-old Democrat said she likes Dayton's "tax the rich" message. "I think we all have to bite the bullet and pay more taxes," she said.

For not having much new information about the election, this article had a considerably large amount of comments online with over 500. The comments appear to show hopes for a better candidate or different poll results.   


View complete article here.

Getting to know Dayton

An article in today's paper titled, "Dayton was born to run" is rather lengthy and therefore is split into different sections. The article falls under the category of personality trait coverage. The writer begins by describing the art in Dayton's town house. The second section is titled "Growing Up as a Dayton." The writer goes on to describe Dayton's earlier years.

High expectations were branded on Dayton early by his father, Bruce Dayton, the demanding patriarch of one of Minnesota's wealthiest families.

The elder Dayton once told a friend that he wasn't surprised to be at the helm of Dayton-Hudson in 1979 when it became a billion-dollar company. Family lore says his rejoinder was: "I'd always dreamed I'd run a $10 billion company."

To be the eldest of four children -- two boys and two girls -- was to feel the brunt of his father's lofty aspirations.

Mark Dayton slumps in his chair, gazing up as he did when his parents sat him down to speak to him about bringing home only second honors from the fifth grade.

"I was told in no uncertain terms that I would never come home with second honors again. ... I was given an 'F' and an 'F' for effort," he says with a laugh. "I got first honors every semester for the rest of the time."

He was an All-State goalie as a senior at the Blake School who went on to play for Yale until an accident on the ice slit his throat. Asked why he became a goalie and he says "Because I couldn't skate well enough to do anything else."

So he worked harder at it. 

The article has some great quotes from Dayton, especially being that it is an article on personality trait coverage. This is a great time to do an article on Dayton, as election day is almost here and Dayton is pretty far ahead in the race.

The article portrays Dayton as just another guy, which makes it easier for voters to relate to him. The article discusses his struggles as a child and throughout college and problems with drinking. This article doesn't hold anything back and whether or not that is a good thing is up to the reader's opinions.

After showing the funny side of Dayton with a few quotes, the article ends with a quote from a friend of Dayton's.

"He is really a wonderful human being. ... He has done so much that he never takes credit for."

Another Poll

News coverage on the race for MN governor has become less and less as we get closer to the election day. Most of the coverage has consisted of reports on advertisements or poll results. Today's article reported on a new poll done by SurveyUSA. The results of the survey were very similar and consistent with past surveys. The results show that Dayton is in the lead with the support of 42 percent of likely voters. Emmer isn't far behind with 37 percent.

This article once again falls under horse race coverage, which seems to be the focus as the race raps up. Since the article is just a report on the survey results, it is fairly short with only five paragraphs. The article shows the percentages for each of the three candidates and doesn't appear to favor any one over the other.

News Coverage of Ads

According to Stephen J. Wayne: “there are basically three types of political commercials: those that praise candidates and their accomplishments (positive ads), those that contrast candidates to the obvious advantage of the ad’s sponsor (contrast ads), and those that just criticize candidates on the grounds of their policy preferences or personal behavior (negative ads).”

Later in the text, Wayne discusses how good advertisements sometimes become or create news. “The most effective ads are those that reinforce or become news.” Although the ad discussed below may not become big news, it is in the news. Wayne also discusses how news coverage of ads pretty much gives candidates free advertising time.

Buried within today’s paper, an article titled, “Group’s ad attacks Dayton tax plan,” focused on a television ad that falls under the category of negative ads.

‘Dayton will raise job killing taxes by $5 billion,’ an announcer says, as the ad shows faces of sad children. ‘That’s more than $2,300 in new taxes per Minnesota family.’

The article goes on to describe Dayton’s reaction of the ad. He says the ad is misleading and creates a false impression. Not only is the ad giving a negative view towards Dayton's campaign, but by covering the ad in the newspaper the article is bringing attention to the negative aspects of Dayton's campaign. By covering ads in the news, candidates get double advertisement whether negative or positive. 

Two Shorts Articles

Buried within the paper today is an article titled "Complaint Alleges Campaign Violations." The writers at Star Tribune must have realized this article wasn't very significant to the public. The article has only had 6 comments online since it was posted last night. The article covers the details of a complaint about campaign finance violations. With only two direct quotes, the article is quite short.

Click here to view complete article.

On the other hand, a very short article published yesterday has gained lots of attention with over 1000 comments. Why? Because the article published yesterday falls into the category of horse race coverage. The article titled "Poll: Dayton with wide lead over Emmer" very briefly reports the results of a Minnesota Poll about the governor's race.

Just a month ago, the two candidates were even at 34 percent. But, the latest survey shows Dayton with 38 percent of 750 likely Minnesota voters and Emmer with 27 percent.

Independence Party candidate Tom Horner garnered 16 percent of likely voters in the survey conducted Wednesday through Sunday. The poll also shows more than one in five Republicans, or 22 percent, plan to vote for Horner instead of Emmer.

The article has zero quotes and is less than ten paragraphs, but the information is very important to voters who are interested in the "game."

Click here to view complete article

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