2009 Scholar in Residence

Dr. Kimberly Nalder Assistant Professor, Government Civically Responsible Journalism: Spanish Language Versus English Language Local Television News Content in 2008

Description of Project :

Local television news still serves as the primary source of news and information about politics and government for more people than any other medium.  All broadcast stations have a responsibility to provide public affairs content in their newscasts, but Spanish language channels may serve a unique role in this regard, in terms of community building and providing more particular information.  This project seeks to compare the civically useful content of local television news broadcasts on Spanish language vs. English language channels throughout the 2008 election cycle.  The length, tone, balance, sourcing, subjects and content of stories on government and elections will be analyzed, along with the content of the political advertisements broadcast alongside the news programs.

About Dr. Nalder:

Kimberly Nalder is currently an Assistant Professor in the Government Department at California State University, Sacramento.  Her areas of research and teaching focus are: public opinion, voting behavior, mass media, and women in politics. She has done past research on the electoral effects of term limits and political knowledge as a determinant of public opinion. With the support of the College of SSIS and the Institute for Social Research, she has established a media research lab on the Sacramento State campus and is currently partnered with the Sacramento Media Group in monitoring local television news coverage of elections. Professor Nalder is involved with civic engagement and education campaigns in the region, including planning voter information and registration programs and political debate forums at Sacramento State, and working with the League of Women Voters and California Common Cause on election related projects.