News of politicians not that influential

EAST LANSING, Mich., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- News coverage of U.S. politicians and their rhetoric appears to have less influence on the public compared to other news coverage, a political scientist says.

Voters are more likely to be swayed by news stories about grassroots protests and local events, Corwin Smidt, professor of political science at Michigan State University, said.

"What this says is that maybe politicians can't use the bully pulpit to influence public opinion through the news media as much as many people thought they could," Smidt said.

In a study of media coverage of two national issues, gun control in 2000 and healthcare reform in 2009, Smidt found news stories focusing on Washington debate had little to no effect on public opinion polls, an MSU release reported Thursday.

In contrast to news about the Washington battle on gun control, coverage of the Million Mom March in 2000, designed to rally support for stricter gun-ownership laws, was highly influential in shaping the public agenda, Smidt said.

While many people say they believe the news media sets the agenda, Smidt said his study suggests otherwise.

"The news media are still the gatekeepers -- in that if they don't cover something we probably won't hear about it -- but everything they cover does not have the same effect," he said. "It actually may be the storyline within the news that provokes opinion."