ABSTRACT
Representative government requires an informed electorate able to legitimately reward or punish public offi cials. Public offi cials require vehicles for initiating and contributing to public policy decisions both among themselves and with the electorate. The media facilitate gathering and disseminating information necessary for those conversations to thrive. Both the shortcomings of Congress and its members and their accomplishments should be part of the mix of information in order to give a balanced view. At the same time media coverage needs to provide enough legitimacy for Congress to make the public feel it is worthwhile to turn its attention to Congress’ efforts. This may mean giving short shrift to some of the minor human frailties and diffi cult-to-justify procedures of the legislative process.
