REPORTING ON ART IN THE CITY: NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF PUBLIC ART IN PHILADELPHIA, NEW ORLEANS, SAN FRANCISCO, AND CHICAGO, 2001–2010

Local journalism is expected to record significant events, people, and ideas tied to the location where the journalism is practiced. Public art commemorates some of these significant events, people, and ideas, some of which encapsulate the style of the city, and all of which can become issues that gain media attention. We investigate a decade (2001–2010) of newspaper reporting and policies related to public art in four cities that are considered cultural destinations in the United States—Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Chicago—to understand how this issue is used to define and describe each of these cities and styles within media discourse. We argue that what is covered and how it is covered shed light on how journalists and those who make decisions about public art seek to develop and maintain the styles of cities.