Jenna Oskowitz

With election season in full swing, voters are feeling the effects of what many see as a U.S. economy in decline. They worry about issues like the mortgage crisis, the cost of oil and unemployment. Voters also appear to be uncertain of what presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are offering as solutions.

One challenge for reporters has been how to effectively marry coverage of the economy with stories about the upcoming presidential election.

Attendees of the 2008 NLGJA convention will have an opportunity to hear the thoughts of four experts who will discuss how economic issues could potentially impact voter decisions in the election.

Friday, Marilyn Geewax, national economics correspondent for Cox Newspapers, will moderate a panel called "Money Matters," about how the economy is joining the war in the front seat to drive the election.

The panel discussion will include presentations by Juliana Menasce Horowitz, research associate for the Pew Research Center; Missy Frederick, staff reporter at the Washington Business Journal; and M.V. Lee Badgett, an economist and research director at the Williams Institute at UCLA.

"People have a gloomy outlook concerning the current economy," Horowitz said.

Horowitz said that 90 percent of the American people feel they are in fair to poor shape while only 10 percent feel they are in good shape when it comes to dealing with money.

"In the 2004 election cycle, the economy was one of the main voter concerns but not nearly as high as it is now," Horowitz said.

In fact, last November only 15 percent of Americans considered the economy to be their most important issue in the upcoming election, according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center. That number has since risen to 44 percent, Horowitz said.

There is definite validity behind concerns that the national economy is in decline, panelist Missy Frederick of the Washington Business Journal.

However, she notes that here in Washington, D.C., the area is more economically sound than the rest of the country. She says this could be attributed to the district's role as the nation's capital.

Frederick plans to address how small businesses such as restaurants, retail and entrepreneurs are dealing with the symptoms posed by the economic downturn.

"The economy has always been a sleeper issue but now it is more obvious," Frederick said. "Reporters can benefit from hearing the perspective of the panelists."

Clearly, voters are hungry for more insightful nuts and bolts coverage of how the presidential candidates will address their economic concerns.

Eight percent of the news hole is filled with stories about the economy, according to a study conducted by Pew Research Center. By contrast, 37 percent is filled by coverage of the campaign.

But Geewax disagrees with Pew's findings.

"Despite Pew's findings, reporting on the election still includes economy-based issues," she said. "People's actual lives matter more than the reporting we are doing."

Geewax said if you are in money trouble, you know it before the media report on it. She lays the blame on the candidates for not offering clear solutions to the troubled economic state.

"Both candidates are doing a terrible job, we don't know what either truly stands for," Geewax said.

As part of Friday's panel discussion, Geewax plans to talk about why she thinks there should be more coverage of business in newspapers.

"Most times business stories are shrunk and stuck in the metro section or behind the sports pages," she said. "There has been a decline in business reporting and it is not only unfortunate, it is a mistake."


Money Matters, 3:45 to 5 p.m. Military Room on the Concourse level. Panel sponsored by Bloomberg News.