USC Annenberg Walter Cronkite Awards
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Best Practices & Tools for Reporters

TIP SHEETS

How to Improve Television Political Coverage 2008

Covering Debates
Bringing community voices to debates. Getting candidates beyond rehearsed answers. What to do when a candidates refuse to debate.



Candidate Profiles & Interviews
The best places to interview candidates for profile stories. How to get the community involved in interviews. Getting the candidate beyond rehearsed answers.


Free Air Time
Creative ways to use free time. How much free time are stations giving the candidates?

Ad Watch Coverage
How to produce effective ad watch stories. What is the ad watch story’s place in the newscast?


WEB RESOURCES FOR POLITICAL REPORTERS 
These Websites are provided to help journalists find key sources for political stories quickly and easily. This list offers contact information about local and state officials, political parties, media and academic experts so that news organizations across the country can find the local sources they need.

VIDEOS TO LEARN FROM

How to Improve Television Political Coverage 2008 - Learning from the Best Practices of the Cronkite Award Winners  

How to Improve Television Political Coverage 2004 - Learning from the Best Practices of the Cronkite Award Winners  

How to Improve Television Political Coverage 2000 - Learning from the Best Practices of the Cronkite Award Winners 

BOOKS TO READ

How to Improve Television Political Coverage: A Transcript from the Walter Cronkite Award Symposium and Dinner  
This book showcases coverage judged worthy of the first-ever USC Annenberg School Walter Cronkite Award. It includes commentary from Award Judges and remarks from Norman Lear, Walter Cronkite and Katharine Graham.
Request a free copy.  

LEAR CENTER LOCAL NEWS ARCHIVE

The Lear Center Local News Archive provides an unprecedented nationwide look at the campaign information Americans receive from local television news through our unique, searchable, online video archive. Search the archive