Joyce Foundation News press release, Midwest Local TV Newscasts Average 36 Seconds of Election Coverage: “In the month following the traditional Labor Day kickoff of the 2006 election campaign season, television stations in nine Midwest markets devoted an average of 36 seconds to election coverage during the typical 30-minute local news broadcast, a new analysis shows. By contrast, the typical early- and late-evening local news broadcasts contained more than 10 minutes of advertising, over seven minutes of sports and weather, and almost two and a-half minutes of crime stories. The analysis traces broadcast news coverage in media markets in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio, all of them witnessing highly competitive campaigns for state office this year. Public opinion research consistently shows that voters rely on local television newscasts as their primary source of information about elections and politics. The findings were reported today by the Midwest News Index (MNI), a new project of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s NewsLab.”