NPG’s editorial approach to covering the 2026 midterm election
Our goal is to produce accurate, transparent, and balanced coverage for members of an engaged and informed local electorate.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Truth, trust and transparency are the guiding principles the Local News 8 news team is prioritizing in our coverage of the 2026 midterm election.
As watchdogs for our community, we will focus on local, county and state races, while working in tandem with our network partners to cover the balance of power in the United States Congress and gubernatorial races.
Our Coverage Priorities
As an independent newsgathering organization, we have developed a list of six coverage priorities to guide our political reporting. The list was derived from audience feedback and internal newsroom discussion, and will take priority over orchestrated campaign events organized by individual campaigns.
| Crime | Economy | Education |
| • As part of our commitment to covering public safety, we will track which violent crimes are being committed, and where. We will ask candidates about crime trends and their plans for addressing and funding public safety concerns. | • Inflation-fueled price increases have families paying more for household items. In many cases, raises don’t equal cost of living increases, which has a domino effect that impacts the ability to save – or spend on non-essential goods such as vacations. We will ask about spending priorities and strategies to keep budgets balanced. | • School funding, classroom sizes and lesson plans all impact a child’s ability to learn and excel. Our coverage will cover everything from the classroom to the school board meeting room. |
| Health Care | Housing | Immigration |
| • Access to affordable health care, prescription drug costs and unexpected medical bills continue to impact personal pocketbooks. We will explore each of the issues, along with solutions to help improve healthy living. | • Availability and affordability remain obstacles for many would-be homeowners. At the same time, the number of people experiencing homelessness is also increasing. We will report on specific plans to address each issue. | • Immigration, deportation, trade and tariff policies continue to impact communities beyond the border states. City and county budgets are stressed with added expenses and receive inconsistent aid from the federal government. We will report on the search for solutions at local, county, state and federal levels. |
Earning Trust Through Transparency
While it is impossible to plan for every potential coverage scenario, it is our intention is to explain our overall editorial approach and priorities.
To maintain continuity in our coverage, we will take a “beat” approach by assigning specific reporters to cover individual candidates and issues; this will allow our team of journalists to immerse themselves in the subject matter leading up to election day. While it may not always be possible to schedule with 100% consistency, we will do our best.
In our TV and digital stories, we will clearly attribute sources of all data and documentation included in the report (and include hyperlinks when available).
When we interview a candidate or spokesperson on an issue, we will post the full, unedited video version of the interview, along with a written transcription, on our website and in our news app. If/when Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are used to transcribe lengthy interviews, we will disclose that fact in an Editor’s Note.
If/when AI tools are used to assist our storytelling process, we will be transparent in disclosing how and why the tools were utilized, and confirm that all material was reviewed by a human editor prior to publication and/or broadcast.
When covering multiple candidates running for the same race, we will attempt to fairly compare each by asking the same (or similar) questions and by allowing equal time for each response.
If a candidate chooses not to answer a direct question from one of our reporters, we will make a respectful second attempt to ask the question again. If the candidate selects not to answer a second time, we may choose not to include his/her response in our edited story (the full interview will remain available online).
If we choose to interview a political expert, it will be so the individual can help explain a complex issue without taking a political position. We will thoroughly vet the individual’s background and explain why the interview is important/relevant.
When we stream or air a scheduled candidate speech, we will request a hard copy in advance and, when provided, post it with the archived video of the speech.
We will also publish an online Voter’s Guide to help you do your own research on the candidates and issues that will be on November’s ballot. The Voter’s Guide will include widgets to partner resources that allow you to register to vote/check your registration status, and see what is on your ballot.
Tracking polls (aka “horse race” polls) may be included as a springboard into an in-depth report or to add context within a story. Here are links to the polls we will be monitoring, including those used by the
broadcast networks.
• Fox News Polls (Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R))
• NBC News Public Opinion Strategies
Producing Accurate & Unbiased Coverage
According to the American Psychological Association, implicit bias “is a negative attitude, of which one is not consciously aware, against a specific social group. Implicit bias is thought to be shaped by experience and based on learned associations between particular qualities and social categories, including race and/or gender. Individuals’ perceptions and behaviors can be influenced by the implicit biases they hold, even if they are unaware they hold such biases.”
Awareness and knowledge of the potential for implicit bias are our best defenses against it influencing our reporting. We have already adopted the following best practices from the Center for Racial Justice Innovation into our companywide editorial guidelines, and will apply them to our political coverage:
• Avoid stereotypes
• Use a multiracial lens, and consider all communities of color.
• Focus on actions and impacts, rather than attitudes and intentions.
• Ensure headlines, images, captions and graphics are fair and responsible in their depiction of people (of color), and coverage of the issues.
We will also assign reporters to fact-check statements made by candidates during campaign appearances and in advertising messages paid for by individual campaigns and/or political action committees. Fact-check reporting will include attribution to the sources used to confirm or contradict candidate statements, and we will also include information about who is paying for advertising messages.
All Local News 8 content is protected by copyright and we do not allow any of our published or broadcast content to be used in any political advertisements that might be produced, distributed and/or paid for by any outside entity including candidates, issue supporters or political action committees.
Get Engaged and Informed by Checking Our Online Voter’s Guide
To track the stories that are most important to you, we invite you to create a user profile on our website by clicking the bell icon at the bottom right of your screen. Here are the benefits of creating an account:
• Personalized profile allows you to create a site avatar and keep track of your personal engagement history.
• Personalized news feed allows you to follow your favorite authors and/or topics.
• Allows you to comment on articles and use the notification tray to let you know when another commenter has responded to a thread you’re following.
• Receive notifications when there is breaking news, severe weather, or a local event livestream.
