Political news is any form of journalistic content that reports on political affairs or events. Specifically, political journalism deals with issues involving civil government and political power such as elections, governance, governmental policy, and so forth. Whether political news is objective or partisan, it must convey factual information in a clear and straightforward manner to remain credible. Breaking into a career as a freelance political journalist requires dedication, perseverance and a strategic approach.
It is well known that a large majority of the public in modern democracies follows politics in the mass media on a daily basis. The intensity of this activity and the kind of political knowledge people extract from it, however, vary according to age, education and interest.
Moreover, the political news environment has changed substantially in recent years. Once dominated by traditional newspapers, network TV and major national magazines, it is now crowded with 24-hour cable channels, Internet sites and user-generated news services such as blogs and personal websites. Young adults and those with higher levels of education and income are especially intense online news consumers.
A number of scholars argue that the mainstream media is not doing a good job in reporting political news and information. They claim that in order to maintain their credibility and regain the public’s trust, they should focus on covering a wider range of issues involving civil governments and political power as well as take measures to promote civic engagement. They also suggest that political journalists should be more familiar with scholarly research on governmental science to enable them to provide context and add value to their reporting.
