First, because it was a "blanket" primary, much of the print media felt compelled for the first time to mention the existence of parties other than the Democrats and Republicans, since people had all these names on their sample ballots. Only the San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, Orange County Register and Long Beach Press-Telegram solicited positions and bios from "minor" candidates.
The only television coverage offered to candidates other than the "big four" was on Century Cablevision in Los Angeles, which gave five minute spots to any candidate submitting them on 3/4" or BETA SP tapes. These spots were also placed on the Democracy Network web site (http://www.democracynet.org/CA).
Public television station KCET in Los Angeles ran one half-hour program on "alternative" gubernatorial candidates, which was repeated at least once. Audio portions were repeated on their radio station.
The only commercial radio stations to give coverage to candidates other than the aforementioned $$$ four were KFI, the big L.A. AM station, which set up two-minute call-ins from candidates for governor and attorney general during a three hour freewheeling talk show, and a station in Fresno (I'm blanking on the name) which had gubernatorial candidates on for a half-hour each on call-in shows.
Lake County Radio ran five-minute cartridges from candidates. (This is, as those familiar with California know, a *huge* audio market -- the total listenership must be at least 5,000 people.)
Pacifica station KPFK in Los Angeles did a half-hour program with gubernatorial candidates excluded from the L.A. Times debate. Station KPFA in Berkeley continued its policy of boycotting all coverage of any candidates except liberal Democrats, except that one independently-produced program ("Making Contact") managed to turn out a program which was effectively a half-hour plug for Green Party candidate Dan Hamburg. (A pretty good program, too.) Pacifica News, of course, consistently referred to Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Lungren as "unopposed" in the primary (he had three opponents) with an occasional deviation to "unopposed except by medical marijuana advocate Dennis Peron."
In almost all the media, Davis, Checchi, Harmon and Lundgren were "the four candidates for governor," with little or no modification. The other 13 were nonexistent. There was almost no coverage of any other race.
Numerous civic organizations solicited positions from candidates, did grids for their members on issues, etc. Unfortunately, all added together they don't amount to much in this age of demobilization.
Tom Condit