The Public Sphere Revisited: U.S. Newspapers’ Coverage of the 2004 Presidential Election Campaign (Top Student Paper).

One of the key concepts that facilitate a pluralistic public sphere is the diversity of sources and issues provided by the media for deliberative civic communication. This paper examines the role of national and battleground state newspaper in providing diverse information sources and issues covered in a closely contested 2004 presidential campaign. Our analysis reveal that national and battleground newspapers significantly differ in their reliance on various governments, non-government, elite and non-elite sources. Results also indicate that national and battleground state newspapers significantly differ in their coverage of various issues. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]