My Analysis of the Ohio State Auditor Race

The overall coverage of the state auditor's race between Ohio state representatives and Akron natives Mary Taylor (R) and Barbara Sykes (D) was disappointing. Much of the news coverage was made through newspapers, but in particularly, the Dayton Daily News gave the race very little attention. As mentioned in a November 4 article on the candidates in the DDN, "the auditor is responsible for auditing all Ohio public offices, including local governments and state agencies and boards," yet much of the paper's coverage involved controversy about an ethnically-biased GOP poll by Taylor's party and Taylor's self-promotion of being a certified public accountant (unlike Sykes).

The strength of the coverage was primarily based in the fairness present in the comparison of the candidates. Taylor and Sykes both were given equal treatment, but this should be expected of all newspapers in general. One other strength was that the depth of the representatives' political backgrounds was fairly informative, though issues pertaining to the job of the auditor were not covered well. The weaknesses were numerous; as prefaced, the DDN only really covered the GOP poll fiasco and the ethnic bitterness harbored between Taylor, an Anglo American, and Sykes, who is African American. Also, the fact that the candidates were frequently compared by their ages (Taylor is 40, while Sykes is 51) was exhausting. The frequency of TV coverage was very low as well. All in all, the elements for how the candidates could best relate to occupying the auditor's office went uncovered, while excesses of Taylor being a CPA without relation to being a state auditor made for considerable filler. There could have been more in-depth profiles, interviews and analyses on not only the DDN's part, but the area news companies' parts in all.

The DDN coverage of the auditor's race, in relation to Jay Rosen's seven principal standards for political reporting, was weak in totality. Of the four significant articles that related to both Taylor and Sykes, only did the paper "track the progress of the race and factors that go into winning it" somewhat effectively, as cited in Rosen's "Toward a More Honest Job Description for the Political Press". Thorough candidate coverage and background checks, the dimension of fund-raising, major (valid) campaign issues, and analysis and commentary, among other things was either undone or very poorly executed.

In relation to Robert Shogan's "Covering Character", many statements made by the author himself could apply the auditor's race coverage by television and newspaper sources. For instance, the statement that "some journalists may have been influenced by the 'Personal Is Political' credo...based on the notion that individual problems are rooted in larger political issues, thus tending to politicize private life" (Shogan 64) can be directed to the generic coverage of Taylor and Sykes' own families and ages, though their relevance to politics remains to be seen. Distinctly stated in the context of the news media, Shogan remarked:

It is not enough to dig up something about a politician's past. The press has a further obligation to explain what difference this information makes to the voters. Every item of personal behavior is not equally relevant to...performance. (Shogan 67)

Fortunately, the Dayton-area media did not superficially delve into either of the candidates' pasts to formulate a false sense of political competition, while choosing to keep the focus on Taylor and Sykes' past duties in politics. In the end, Shogan put it best when he stated that all news journalists should "just cover the news" and "tell both sides of the story" (Shogan 67), yet in today's age, objectivism is becoming a lost concept in the world of journalism altogether.

On the other hand, Ken Dautrich chose to inform his readers of what voters truly desire from the news, in context of voting and concurrent candidacies: "The American electorate is hungry for news and information that allow it to evaluate the substance of...candidacies on the basis of issue positions and on the likely consequences of electing a particular candidate to office." (Dautrich 125) In context of the news coverage pertaining to the auditor's office from the Dayton area, news and general information that related to Taylor and Sykes' candidacies and surrounding issues lacked depth. Based on the aforementioned articles from the DDN that covered ownership of a management firm, GOP polls, and presidency in the Ohio Legislature Black Caucus, the voting layman would be left starving at the polls. It was also stated that "voters need to know how candidates stand on issues and how the election of a particular candidate will influence public policy" (Dautrich 129); the Dayton media failed capitalize on the candidates' stances, even in brevity-The Lantern was the best way to acquire an abbreviated knowledge of the candidates' platforms.

In Dautrich's own words, "it is now up to news organizations and journalists to produce more news that meets voters' needs." (Dautrich 130)

Coverage List (all news article publications)

(Note: The overall coverage in relation to the auditor's seat found in Dayton was nearly non-existent. WHIO Channel 7 offered nothing in the form of news, while other surrounding papers made mentions by name of the candidates, but lacking significant news material.)

Dems say GOP poll in auditor's race has hint of racial bias -
White candidate's question asks if voters know of opponent's role in black group.

Dayton Daily News (OH)
August 31, 2006
Author: Laura A. Bischoff Staff Writer

Sykes for auditor - with reservations

Dayton Daily News (OH)
September 28, 2006

Dems' complaint goes to full hearing status -
GOP candidate accused of false statements on Web site about role in family business.

Dayton Daily News (OH)
November 2, 2006
Author: William Hershey Staff Writer

State reps from Summit seek auditor's post -
Campaign being waged against backdrop of scandals that have rocked state government.

Dayton Daily News (OH)
November 4, 2006

Author: William Hershey Staff Writer

State CandidatesThe LanternNovember 2, 2006; By Jason Turner