Press Release--December 20, 2000
Florida Trouble Triples TV Attention
WASHINGTON, DC—Network news coverage of the presidential
campaign more than tripled after Election Day, according to a new ElectionWatch
report from the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA).
The study also shows these post-election stories received more attention
in five weeks than the entire primary campaign did in five months.
These findings are the most recent results of CMPA’s ElectionWatch
project examining coverage of Campaign 2000. ElectionWatch provides regular
updates of how the broadcast networks are covering the candidates, the issues
and the campaign. Major findings reflect the stories broadcast on ABC, CBS
and NBC evening news covering the primary campaign (January 1st to June
5th), the general election campaign (September 4th-November 6th) and the
post-election situation in Florida (November 8th—December 12th).
Triple Play: In the five weeks following Election Day,
the networks devoted 37 minutes per night to the Florida electoral process,
averaging out to over 12 minutes each night per network. This amounted to
three times the networks’ coverage of the general election campaign,
when they combined to average only 12 minutes each evening overall—or
4 minutes each night per network.
Full Primary Eclipse: The nightly network news programs
dedicated 21 ½ hours to post-election news and commentary. This was
60 percent more than the nine-week general election (13 hrs, 25 min) and
25 percent more than the total for the five-month primary period (17:08).
Network Breakdown: Both CBS’ (a 2 hr, 58 min increase)
and NBC’s (up 3:32) post-election coverage rose 74 percent from the
general election level, compared to an increase of only 34 percent for ABC
(up 1:35). Though all the post-election coverage rose substantially, industry
leader NBC (8:18) dedicated an hour and nineteen minutes more than CBS (6:59),
and over two hours more than ABC (6:13).
