Sometimes, a story in The Grand Rapids Press is so bad that it serves as a perfect reminder of the importance of independent media.

A recent story in The Grand Rapids Press (July 9)--while particularly absurd--is one such reminder. The story, reprinted from the Associated Press, was titled "McCain rules the dog lovers" and was subtitled, "Americans without pets support Obama." The story then went on to relate the findings of a recent AP-Yahoo News poll in which pet owners were found to prefer McCain over Obama by a margin of 42% to 37%. Not content to simply report the findings of the poll, it offers some mild "analysis" about how voters with pets may prefer McCain because he owns pets.

While the story may seem to be so absurd as to not be worthy of attention, it is worth taking note of for many reasons. One, it shows how often the media ignores substantive issues such as policy differences between the candidates. This has been shown in previous studies by the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (GRIID) and in previous editions of Election Watch (2004, 2006). Second, it is typical of media coverage in that it focuses on the results of a poll. Much of what one sees in the corporate media's coverage of elections is so-called "horse race" coverage in which reporters cite the latest poll results to show who's behind and who's ahead. Most often, this functions as another means through which substantive issues are ignored and wherein the focus is on poll results, not policy positions. Finally,

The full text of the story is reprinted below:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- If the presidential election were up to pet owners, John McCain could have a blue ribbon in his future.

From George Washington's foxhounds Drunkard and Tipsy to George W. Bush's terriers Barney and Miss Beazley, pets are a longtime presidential tradition for which the presumed Republican nominee seems well prepared, with more than a dozen.

Democratic candidate Barack Obama, on the other hand, doesn't have a pet, though he has promised his daughters a dog after the election, win or lose.

An AP-Yahoo News poll found that pet owners favor McCain over Obama 42 percent to 37 percent, with dog owners particularly in McCain's corner.

If voters identify with a guy who owns pets, then it's easy to see why they'd like the Arizona senator.

He has a veritable menagerie, including Sam the English springer spaniel, Coco the mutt, turtles Cuff and Link, Oreo the black and white cat, a ferret, three parakeets and a bunch of saltwater fish.

The poll found that among people who don't have pets, Obama leads McCain 48 percent to 34 percent.

But that still leaves McCain looking strong, since the majority of homes have a pet.

The American Pet Product Manufacturers Association estimates that 63 percent of American homes include a pet, including 88 million cats and 75 million dogs.

Dog owners lean toward McCain, 43 percent to 34 percent, while cat owners basically divide their loyalties with 41 percent for McCain and 38 percent for Obama.

While he doesn't currently have a pet, Obama has reportedly promised his daughters a dog once the campaign is over.

Here's a look at the poll results:

* All pet owners: McCain, 42%; Obama 37%; Nader, 3%; other, 3%; undecided, 14%. Margin of error, plus or minus 2.9 points.

* Do not own a pet: Obama, 48%; McCain, 34%; Nader, 3%; other, 3%; undecided, 12%. Margin of error, 4.1 points.

* Dog owners: McCain, 43%; Obama, 34%; Nader, 3%; other, 3%, undecided, 12%. Margin of error, 3.6 points.

* Cat owners: McCain, 41%; Obama, 38%; Nader, 3%; other, 4%; undecided, 14%. Margin of error 3.9 points.