CMPA ElectionWatch Study in the White House Bulletin
(October 19)
The Center for Media and
Public Affairs (CMPA) is expected to release its analysis today
of the television news media’s coverage of the presidential campaign
so far. Compared to 2000, media coverage of issues has increased notably.
However, viewership is increasingly fragmented among the different television
outlets as Fox has changed the dynamic in political coverage. Today’s
CMPA study charted coverage of the major nightly news programs
on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, comparing 2004 to 2000.
Describing the findings of the study, Matthew Felling, CMPA’s
Media Director, told the Bulletin, “Our study is a good news,
bad news story. It’s great that the networks are defying conventional
wisdom and covering hard news more in this campaign. We’re taking
a break from celebrity trials and moving to a more informed populace. It’s
also a sign that the major campaign themes, while still negative, have been
issue-oriented. You can’t cover Bush’s charges of Kerry’s
flip-flopping without looking into his voting record; likewise, you can’t
cover Kerry’s policy alternatives without looking closely at Bush’s
stances.”
Felling added, “On the other hand, our study shows
the increasing Balkanization of the news media. Whether you’re looking
at the varying depictions of Bush across the networks, or the divide between
the networks and Fox News Channel in covering Kerry, it’s distressing
that the candidate you see depends more on who’s reporting the news
and less on who’s watching it.”
Among the findings of the CMPA analysis are:
· “More News - Network news campaign coverage in September
was up 40% over 2000 - 199 stories vs. 141.”
· “More Beef - The proportion of stories covering the
campaign horse race dropped from 62% in 2000 to only 23% this year….
Meanwhile, the proportion of stories dealing with policy issues rose from
50% in 2000 to 53% in 2004.”
· More Beefs - Both candidates are getting more negative coverage
than their counterparts in 2000. Evaluations were only 38% positive toward
Kerry and 29% positive toward Bush, compared to 48% positive toward Gore
and 33% positive toward Bush in 2000.”
· “Bite Size News - Candidate sound bites averaged under
eight seconds in length.”
· “More Differences - All three networks gave Kerry 38%
positive evaluations. But ABC gave Bush only 20% positive, compared to 30%
at NBC and 35% at CBS.”
· “Bent Toward Bush? - Fox News Channel’s ‘Special
Report’ featured 31% positive evaluations of Bush compared to 21%
positive toward Kerry. And Fox panelists’ comments favored Bush by
50% positive to only 13% positive toward Kerry.”
· “’Fair and Balanced’? - In ‘Special
Report’ news segments, the coverage was balanced - 27% positive
for Bush and 24% for Kerry. Fox was also more balanced in its issue coverage
(30% positive for Bush vs. 28% for Kerry) than the broadcast network (41%
positive for Kerry vs. 23% positive for Bush).”
