U.S. Senatorial News Coverage from 1953 to 1975: A Study of the 83rd, 89th, 91st and 93rd Congresses.

Senators of the Eighty-third Congress were studied to ascertain what factors were most highly correlated with press coverage for each individual senator. This information was then correlated with an earlier study of the Eighty-ninth, Ninety-first, and Ninety-third Congresses to see what differences might exist which could indicate the development of a "new breed" of publicity-minded senators commanding a power base through national constituencies created by media coverage. Few differences were found between the earlier study of the more recent Congresses and the study of the Eighty-third Congress. While senators with a high institutional opportunity (a combination of seniority, prestigious committee leadership assignments, and state size) have an advantage over less powerful colleagues which shows up more in the Eighty-third Congress than in the later ones, nevertheless, senate activity (measured by number of Congressional Record entries and bills and resolutions sponsored) is a more powerful predictor of press coverage than institutional opportunity in all four Congresses. Senators with power bases created in part by media coverage are not a recent phenomenon and are at least as evident in the Eighty-third Congress as in the Ninety-third Congress. (TJ)