October 23 and was written by Chronicle staff writer, Susan Yoachum (1994). The title of the article is "Fear and Loathing in the Magic Kingdom/Disillusioned with government and frustrated by their elected officials, Californians are likely to vent their anger at the polls -- if they bother to vote at all." Appearing in a "special section" clearly intended to "inform" readers on election issues, Yoachum (1994) asserts from the beginning that the California electorate "feels duped" (para.2). In explaining that polls indicate that Americans hadn't gotten the kind of change they anticipated when they elected Bill Clinton in the 1992 Presidential election, Yoachum (1994) argues that their frustration was transforming them into an electorate that was "'angry and self-absorbed'" (para. 6). This description came from pollster Andrew Kohut, director of the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press, a seemingly reliable source that lends credibility to Yoachum assertion. Yoachum (1994) goes on to make some sweeping generalizations about the American public at-large, based on Kohut's sample of 3,800 adults, stating, "Fewer Americans think government should take care of needy people. More Americans are increasingly indifferent to the problems of minorities and hostile toward immigrants" (para.8). Though Yoachum gives a cursory, one-sentence explanation of 187, albeit incomplete, in a following paragraph, the tone of her piece is overwhelming cynical and accusatory toward voters who would consider supporting Proposition 187. It is not clear whether the entire "Voter's Handbook" of the paper appeared with an editorial disclaimer or whether it was touted as being unbiased and left for voters to evaluate the issues, but this is a clear example of the media siding with the anti-187 groups.
The second article from the San Francisco Chronicle appeared just three days later, on October 26, 1994 and was in the Editorial section, on page A...