The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour Election ‘88 Coverage

Critics of the 1988 presidential campaign point to an unprecedented shallowness in much of the media coverage. Often missing from the reporting was a cogent analysis of the issues of the campaign, of the abilities of the candidates to lead, and of the role of the United States in the uncertain economic and political climate of post-industrialization. What the public saw mostly were “photo opportunities.” What the public heard were “sound bites.” One notable exception to this trend was the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, produced in association with WNET/ 13, New York, and WETA, Washington. Its coverage of the campaign was extensive and exhaustive. From the first primaries in January through the election in November, the NewsHour team covered it all. For providing the American public with an exceptional in-depth analysis of the electoral process, a Peabody Award to the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour.