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Journalism & Media vocabulary · Story Types and Opinion

Horse-race journalism

Meaning in journalism & media, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In journalism & media, horse-race journalism means: Political coverage emphasizing who is ahead and campaign tactics rather than policy substance.

In Turkish: seçimi yarış olarak ele alan habercilik

How it is used

Usually critical; use when competitive standing dominates the account of an election.

Example sentences

  1. The election supplement was criticised for horse-race journalism and little discussion of housing.

    The criticism concerns the balance of attention, not the mere presence of polls.

  2. To move beyond horse-race journalism, she compared the candidates' transport proposals.

    Comparing policies shifts coverage from winning chances to governing choices.

Common collocations

  • criticise horse-race journalism
  • avoid horse-race journalism
  • horse-race journalism coverage
  • coverageThe way the media report an event or subject, and how much attention they give it, in print, online or on air.
  • biasAn unfair preference for or against a person, group or idea that affects how a story is chosen, written or presented.

More terms: Story Types and Opinion

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