Media agenda ignores key Supreme Court cases

Image of the Supreme Court on TV news, Jan. 1, 2012 – Jun. 18, 2013

 June 19, 2013. New York – Many of the key issues before the U.S. Supreme Court have failed to establish themselves on the media agenda, according to new research from Media Tenor International.

“As the Supreme Court´s summer recess approaches and decisions are issued on cases which could result in significant changes in U.S. life, TV news coverage of those topics which have been most vocally discussed by political pundits have actually received little media visibility in widely-watched mainstream news broadcasts,” says Racheline Maltese, a researcher with Media Tenor.

“Affirmative action, which is the subject of a case which could result in sweeping changes to university admissions, has been essentially invisible on the media agenda since the beginning of 2012,” Maltese says. “Meanwhile, voting rights, the subject of another key case which is also tied to concerns regarding race-based discrimination in the U.S., has also remained below the awareness threshold.” Media Tenor has found that of major topics relevant to the Court´s current term, only coverage related to gay marriage, the subject of two cases awaiting decision, has managed visibility above the awareness threshold during the past 18 months.

“While the Supreme Court is the ultimate authority on American law, media attention for the Court has been limited in 2013, with most focus on its individual judges and how they may rule on particular issues,” says Maltese. She added that this focus resulted in more coverage for Justice Kennedy, a frequent swing vote on the Court, than the Court´s Chief Justice John Roberts.