“So much has changed in Virginia politics over the last 25 years, and those changes all work against events like Buena Vista,” said Stephen Farnsworth, political science professor and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington. “For the dwindling Richmond press corps, it’s a very expensive proposition to make the trek. For the candidates, it’s not clear there’s a lot of value in going if there’s no coverage,” said Farnsworth who, before his 32 years as a professor, reported for the Kansas City Star.
