Press Release--October 23, 2000
PBS Bests Networks in Election News
WASHINGTON, DC—PBS coverage of the major party candidates
is more positive and balanced than on the three network evening newscasts,
according to the latest findings from the Center for Media and Public
Affairs (CMPA) ElectionWatch report. The study also finds
that the PBS "NewsHour" devoted more airtime to the campaign than
all three commercial networks combined, and PBS focused more heavily on
substantive issues, while the networks stressed the horse race.
ElectionWatch is published weekly by the Center
for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA), a nonpartisan, nonprofit research
and educational organization. CMPA’s ongoing scientific content analysis
of election news measures the tone and focus of news coverage by examining
on-air statements from reporters and their news sources. This report is
based on all stories broadcast from Labor Day through October 1 on the ABC,
CBS, NBC and PBS evening news shows. This project is being done in collaboration
with The Brookings Institution.
Good News for Bush—From Labor Day through October
1, nearly two-thirds of George Bush’s evaluations on PBS were positive
(65 % positive, 35 % negative), while two-thirds of his evaluations on the
commercial networks were critical (67 % negative, 33 % positive). Example:
"I like [Bush’s] issues, and the fact that he’s for children
and education."—Florida retiree, PBS, Sept. 29th
Good News for Gore—During the same period, comments
about Al Gore on PBS were positive by a margin of almost three to one (72
% positive versus 28 % negative), while a majority of comments on the networks
were negative (48 % positive versus 52 % negative). Example: "[Gore]
deserves a lot of credit for moving beyond this old stereotype of Democrats
as fiscally irresponsible"—Robert Kuttner, PBS Sept 7th
Network Negativism—For both networks combined, comments
on the commercial networks were nearly twice as critical (60% negative)
as on PBS (31% negative). Example: "Neither Al Gore nor George W. Bush
will be able to deliver on their promises." BusinessWeek, quoted on
NBC, Oct 3rd
More News for Both—PBS devoted 60 percent more airtime
to the campaign than all three networks combined (394 minutes versus 247
minutes). The "NewsHour" averaged 14 minutes of election news
per night compared to only 3 minutes per night on each commercial network.
More Substance—Nearly three-quarters (73 %) of all
stories on PBS contained discussions of the candidates’ records or
issue positions, compared to just half (50 %) on the networks. Conversely,
the networks gave over twice as much coverage to the horse race as PBS did,
by a margin of 62 percent of all stories to only 27 percent.
