Although the cable news channels have devoted hours and hours of airtime to the campaign for the president, most voters still get their information on the candidates and the issues from local media organizations and in rural Rappahannock County, Va., that means the Rappahannock News.

The News, one of 18 weekly papers owned by Times Community Newspapers, covers the sprawling county and has been ramping up its political coverage ahead of the Feb. 10 primary in the state.

For the paper's three full-time staff -- editor Mary Ann Kuhn, reporter Nick Horrock and office manager Jan Clatterbuck -- the election has added to the stream of education, tax and local political news the paper covers on a weekly basis.

For Horrock, who is new to the News, covering presidential politics is old hat. Before joining the Rappahannock News, Horrock had been chief White House correspondent for United Press International. He's also worked for The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsweek magazine. However, he says a local paper is no less challenging and much more personal.

"I put in 45 to 50 hours last week," Horrock said. "And the readers are right there. They can drive up to the door with a copy of the paper and say, 'I don't like what you said.'"

Horrock also said that covering an entire county with a three-person staff is a challenge.

"There's a lot of stress that comes along with the amount of work we do," he said. "Every word in that paper is edited and organized and stylized."

Despite the change in his readership and the subjects he is covering, Horrock's approach to local news is the same as it was earlier in his career.

"You do it the same way you'd do national reporting," Horrock said. "You get people to tell you trends and moods.

"I can do a lot of things because of my experience and my contacts," Horrock added, saying his relationships with some of his sources go back 30 years.

At the same time, local newspapers like the Rappahannock News have to report on the primary for a more focused community audience. In addition to articles analyzing candidate strategies and the importance Virginia plays in this year's primary, the Rappahannock News also focuses on the local story -- events staged by area Democrats and interviews with local residents about who they voted for and why.

"What The Washington Post won't tell them is what their role is in the race," Horrock said. "That's where Mary Ann is a strong editor. You have to identify what is important to you. The Post and the Richmond-Times Dispatch won't tell them how many voters they had, where the trends are in the county."

But unlike those larger papers, the News does not have the manpower to put together large elaborate stories.

"We can't do an exit poll," Horrock said. "But we can hang out at the voting booths, ask questions, talk to people ourselves. They'll know from television and radio who won. But what happened right here, that will be important."

And for the residents of Flint Hill, Little Washington and Sperryville, that will be a story exclusive to the Rappahannock News.

-- By Chris Nammour, Online NewsHour