It s an ethical litmus test. Return with us to the two weeks just before California s first open primary election, in June of 1998. Scores of confusing ballot issues face voters. A gaggle of politicians and special interests are filling the airwaves with barrages of charges and counter-charges. Scores of millions of dollars state-wide are being pumped into local stations as political interests buy ad time.
Newspapers only get a small piece of the action.
Constructing an ethical litmus test 1. At Grade the News, we measured each of these questions for the four most popular area TV stations and the two biggest newspapers for the 13 days before the election. Nothing else was nearly as important. For the other three stations , sports was more important. At Channel 5, crime, weather and sports all trumped the upcoming election.