The relationship between the media and public opinion concerning national elections is examined. Trends in public opinion and media emphasis were analyzed according to attention to political issues, ideological concepts, and party identification. A random sample of approximately 220 presidential election stories in the New York Times was taken for each of seven election years from 1952 to 1976. Data for public opinion were obtained from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research. Although findings are mixed, it is evident that the media's response to the different campaigns was somewhat more volatile than the public's. There was little evidence of the ability of the media to raise the salience of policy issues in the public mind. However, in the case of ideology, parallel trends in the media and public opinion were found. Public response moved upward in response to the ideological stimulus of particular candidates. It was concluded that media coverage contributes to declining party identification. (Author/KC)