Kerry Vies for Screen Time

Kerry strategists say they are not concerned. "How he gets covered in Pittsburgh or Ohio or Ann Arbor [Mich.] is tremendously different from what we see on the national news," said Mary Beth Cahill, the senator's campaign manager. "We've spent a lot of time on the road with local media, and we think that's going to pay off."

But such coverage must be earned one market at a time, compared with a combined network news audience of 25 million. And local television reports are sometimes fleeting.

When Kerry visited Wheeling, W.Va., last month, the CBS affiliate reported: "He was greeted by local supporters with cheers of 'Jobs first!' and 'Push Bush out!' But about 30 of the more than 100 people who showed up yesterday for Kerry were showing support for President George W. Bush."

The NBC affiliate's report focused on local residents: "Kerry's backers say he's better for health care, education, jobs and better for America. . . . Dozens of pro-Bush supporters showed up toting signs and a blow horn."

Even when local coverage is upbeat, other news can send a different message. In Tuesday's Oregonian, the splashy coverage of the Kerry-Dean rally ran beneath a report about the first day of same-sex marriage licenses in Kerry's home state of Massachusetts.

Kerry's domestic themes regularly generate stories in major national newspapers, though usually on inside pages these days, and on the cable news channels. But these reports have also been diminished by war and terror.

Democratic strategist Ron Klain, a former adviser to Al Gore, said "the incredible dominance of news events" won't sideline Kerry indefinitely."

"There will be plenty of moments between now and November when John Kerry is front and center," Klain said. "What you need to do as a campaign is get ready for those moments and not wring your hands over things you can't control."

Kurtz reported from Washington.