Local elections simultaneously become content in the mass media. During digital media competition,
newspapers still exist as information media in delivering political messages. This study purposed to determine
the construction of reality on the political message of candidates mayor of Pekanbaru in the Riau Pos
newspaper. Five pairs of candidates actively conveyed political messages in campaign activities through the
Riau Pos. Despite the decline in readership, newspapers are not abandoned by readers to look for information.
This Research applied social construction theory by Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann’s to examine the
interactions that created from individuals into reality in social life. This research use a method of Robert N.
Entman qualitative content analysis model. The news analyzed is news that contains political messages from
three main stages of campaign activity: Determination of candidates, debates of candidates, and campaign
activities of candidates for Pekanbaru Mayor during the campaign period. The news examined in this study
amounted to 5 news. The reality of political messages constructed in the Riau Pos newspaper consists of 5
categories, namely: 1) Creation of Religious Communities; 2) Forward City Symbols; 3) Forward City Symbols;
and 4) Religious City Symbols. Thus, this research shows that the reality that is built in the political message
of Pekanbaru Mayor candidates is a reflection of the Pekanbaru mayor’s belief in the religion of Islam that
they are Ottoman