Stereotype-Based Coverage

trivial trait coverage is because it is reporter based and dependent on the media outlet. It does not reflect what is most important when deciding who to vote for. In contrast to both of the previous theories, a third school of thought is that there is no difference in female and male senatorial candidate trait coverage. Hayes examined thousands of articles in local newspapers and found that there is almost no difference in the information about female and male senate candidates. Women and men also received the same amount of coverage as each other. There was not a strong bias toward either gender like the other schools of thought would indicate. Hays also found that women and men have coverage on the same traits and issues. There was no stereotyping present either. References to physical appearance, clothes, family roles and features occurred with the same frequency for women and men. This is in sharp contrast to the first theory that believes this type of coverage is how female candidates are
They also could indicate that even if there is trait and stereotype based coverage that it does not hurt the chances of female candidates getting elected. This could mean better chances for female candidates in the future and could reflect a future rise in female Senators. It would also indicate that the media is sticking to its principle of being unbiased and objective. If the second theory is correct however, it is problematic because it means that the media is not as unbiased as it should be and because of that less women are getting elected, which hurts democracy. The media helps shapes democracy and the degree to which the United States is a democratic nation. If the first two theories are more accurate than the last, this is problematic because it means that the media is shaping who the Senators