Getting the Message Out: Regulatory Policy and the Press

Few social scientists have paid attention to how the press covers regulatory policymaking in the US. Those who have argue that the press does not cover regulatory policy with any vigor. To assess this view, we compare what the Environmental Protection Agency did in one year with the coverage the agency received in two national newspapers in that same year. We find that the papers did not neglect the EPA. The papers certainly did not cover everything the agency did, but they covered those regulatory actions which had the most direct impact on the public. The press gets out the message about regulatory policies that affect everyday life, shift policy in novel directions, and result in policy failure. Our findings suggest that scholars should pay more attention to the impact press coverage may have on the regulatory process.