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Understanding Variations in Media Coverage of U.S. Supreme Court Decisions

Given the central importance of news media in providing the public with information about court decisions,this study examines variations in local and national media coverage of the Supreme Court decision on a Texas antisodomy law known as Lawrence v. Texas.The authors use content analysis of newspaper articles to test hypotheses concerning how media coverage of the case might vary by media outlet. The authors assess bias by examining overall coverage and the tone of coverage.The analysis suggests that media outlets varied in their coverage of the case,with states that had existing sodomy laws providing more coverage,and that some outlets tended to be more biased in their tone than others. The analysis confirms the importance of local relevance,but the authors also find that media outlet size and political context may play a role in determining coverage of an issue.