The relationship between media coverage of education and education policy : a Texas case study

School finance reform was a widely debated issue in Texas in spring 2004. It appeared in the newspaper headlines and topped the policy agendas of the governor and other state leaders. In April, the governor called a special session and legislators assembled in Austin to begin formal debates of school finance. The media was talking too. This study documents the interaction of the media and politicians during the school finance policymaking process in Texas. By analyzing newspaper coverage of education in Texas before, during, and after the Special Session, this study strives to answer two questions: How did the media shape the policymaking process, and conversely, How did policymakers shape the coverage of education in the media.