House Members as Newsmakers: The Effects of Televising Congress

Abstract

It has been argued that the mass media, especially television, have encouraged a new dominance of show horses over work horses in Congress, particularly since the beginning of televised floor proceedings in 1979. This paper tests the hypothesis, best stated by Austin Ranney and Norman Ornstein, that the media provide a resource easily accessible to all members, against the thesis derived from studies of news organizations that the media concentrate on members in structured positions of authority to provide dependable daily news copy. An analysis of mentions in the nightly television news demonstrates that individual House members have become much more frequently covered between 1969 and 1982. However, while access has become more equalized, multivariate analyses of mentions in the nightly news and in the New York Times in the 95th and 96th Congresses (1977-1980), both before and after the introduction of televised floor proceedings, support the contention that media coverage of members of Congress continues to converge on authoritative sources. Congressional newsmakers are usually members of long standing or in leadership positions; what one does in office seems less important for attracting coverage than who one is. The media may then constitute more of a resource than a hindrance for congressional leadership.

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