Local Hopefuls Find They Must Pay to Play Politics on TV; Receive Little Coverage in newscasts.(NATION)

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Byline: Jennifer Harper, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Nine seconds - it's just enough for name, rank and serial number, perhaps.

A new study finds that local political candidates get just 9 1/2 seconds on camera when - and if - they get a little face time on television.

After analyzing 1,227 hours of news programming from 50 markets around the country, University of Wisconsin researchers found that those partisan hopefuls have gotten short shrift.

"Campaign stories are scarce, and only a fifth of them include candidates talking," the survey noted. "When they do speak, candidates talk for 9.5 seconds, on average."

Researchers sat through …