For a while now, mainstream national education coverage has been focused on politics, culture war conflicts, and other high-controversy education-related topics.
And — given the current administration’s various efforts to revamp the US Department of Education and reshape state and local efforts — the coverage makes a certain amount of sense.
However, it’s still somewhat bracing to see the overwhelming preponderance of stories focused on U.S. Department of Education, gun violence, gender, religion, and technology among the roughly 1,500 pieces produced by 12 national news outlets over the course of a year, according to a new study from Bellwether.
“Fewer than one in 10 articles was focused on issues around teachers, around curriculum and instruction and extracurriculars and student academic outcomes,” says co-author Nora Weber in a recent interview (above). “A lot more of the news coverage was around political education coverage.”
If that’s not attention-grabbing enough, the report also finds that there’s not any obvious difference in terms of story selection between outlets with education teams (like the New York Times and Washington Post) and outlets without dedicated education sections that I know of (like CNN or Fox):
To some, the focus on school culture wars and politics is a feature, not a bug. Journalists are covering the news and going deep on topics their audiences want to know about.
To others — I find myself among them — this seems like an unfortunate circumstance. In particular, outlets with dedicated education teams should focus a more substantial portion of their efforts on their unique role and value, even if it means taking a hit when it comes to pageviews. Otherwise, the beat loses its identity and its unique value.
There is at least one obvious alternative model, though it isn’t included in the report: the Associated Press education team, which has avoided the gravitational pull of culture war coverage — and won Pulitzer attention in the process.
Featuring talented journalists and strong leadership, the AP education team shows how to win admiration from readers, funders, and colleagues without going all in on politics and culture wars coverage.
Previously from The Grade
Pulitzer judges recognize deeply collaborative, human-centered education coverage
Why the education beat should lean into ‘general-purpose’ news (& regain reader trust)
What happens when education reporters write about politics (and vice versa)?
Tabloid-style education news is all the rage
