• 100 Days of Solitude George W. Bush was far less visible than either Clinton in 1993 or the elder Bush in 1989.
  
  
• (Up-)Setting the Agenda Only two Bush policies made the top 10 news topics list.
  
  
• More is Less Coverage of the president and his policies got heavier but more negative over time.
  
  
• (Dis-)Like Father... CBS aired the most criticism during the first 100 days of both Bush administrations.
  
  
• Bill Still Wins Humor Race TV late-nite comics told nearly 100 more jokes about Bill Clinton than George Bush.
  
  
  
  

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Over the course of its first 100 days, the network news coverage of President George W. Bush’s administration increased sharply. Through the first 50 days, the Bush administration received only 462 minutes of airtime – an average of only three minutes per network per day – at a time when the new team in town is normally the biggest news story for the networks. For example, it represents barely half the airtime (902 minutes) given to Bill Clinton’s presidency during its first 50 days in 1993. But the new administration’s coverage then rose 22 percent to 562 minutes over the second 50 days, exceeding Clinton’s 536 minutes during the same period in 1993. ABC provided the most airtime for the new administration with 382 minutes (257 stories). Both CBS and NBC gave the new team about an hour less than ABC, at 329 minutes (214 stories) and 313 minutes (148 stories) respectively, though CBS and NBC newscasts were frequently pre-empted on weekends by sports coverage.

Despite this gradual increase in attention from the networks, the Bush administration totaled only 1,024 minutes of coverage over the entire first 100 days – 28 percent less than the airtime received by President Bill Clinton’s administration in 1993 (1,427 minutes) and 11 percent less coverage than President George H. W. Bush’s administration in 1989 (1,142 minutes).

Going Negative

More overall coverage didn’t mean better coverage for President Bush as his airtime increased over the first 100 days. Only 43 percent of all on-air evaluations of George W. Bush were favorable across the entire time period. His best showing was in his first 50 days, when nearly half of the on-air evaluations of him were positive (48%). In contrast, just over one of every three evaluations (36%) during Bush’s second 50 days was favorable, a trend exemplified by Senator Tom Daschle opining to CBS, “These first 100 days give us real concern about the next 1,360.” (4/29/01)

Further, when the evaluations were isolated to only non-partisan sources (anchors, reporters, citizens, experts, etc.), Bush fared even worse. Only 29 percent of all non-partisan evaluations of Bush were favorable in his first 100 days, 33 percent in the first 50 days and 26 percent over the second 50. For instance, Philip Clapp of the National Environment Trust told NBC, “Every single one of the decisions this administration has made on the environment has been made to benefit the chemical industry, the oil industry and the timber industry.”(3/21/01)

Despite this downturn, President Bush maintained a more positive media image on the nightly news from all sources during the first 100 days than did Bill Clinton, who received only 40 percent positive coverage during the same period. Both fell far short of the 61 percent favorable evaluations of Bush’s father in 1989.

The Policy Debate

The media’s treatment of President Bush’s policies mirrored the broader trend towards more critical coverage. When reporting on Bush’s policies during his first 100 days, only 42 percent of the on-air evaluations were positive, a percentage point less than his overall numbers. Once again, his first 50 days were nearly balanced, as 48 percent of policy evaluations were favorable. In the second 50 days, however, his policy coverage fell to 35 percent positive.

The policy for which Bush received the most favorable reviews during the first 100 days was his faith-based initiative (59 percent positive). For example, a pastor who runs a faith based organization told ABC news, “Faith-based organizations through-out the country in these neighborhoods have demonstrated that they can cure people, through their faith, that psychiatrists and institutions can’t.” (1/29/01).

In the wake of the California power crisis and rising gasoline prices, Bush attracted his most negative policy coverage regarding his environmental policies (27%). An environmentalist told ABC, “In 100 days in office, this president has assembled one of the worst records on the environment of any president in history.”(4/19/01).

President Bush’s tax plan, the centerpiece of his policy agenda, received 45 percent favorable evaluations over the first 100 days. After receiving balanced coverage during the first 50 days (49% positive coverage), his tax plan began to receive harsher treatment over the second 50 days (32% positive coverage). For example, Maryland Governor Parris Glendening (D) told ABC, “We think that [the tax cut] is too much. We believe that it has the danger of bringing the economy to a halt. We also think that with this type of tax cut we will not have money to do some of the things that must be done.” (2/27/01)

Networking

Among the three networks, CBS stood out as most critical of the new president. Bush received only 37 percent favorable coverage from them over the 100-day time period – 42 percent in the first 50 days and 32 percent in the second 50. This was nothing new to the Bush family, since President George H. W. Bush also received his most negative first 100-day coverage on CBS and by a far greater margin – 39 percent favorable coverage on CBS, 63 percent on NBC and 85 percent on ABC in 1989. On the other networks, evaluations reflected the overall negative trend, as 43 percent of ABC’s coverage and 42 percent of NBC’s coverage were positive over the entire 100 days. The coverage on ABC was a study in contrast, balanced during Bush’s first 50 days (50% favorable) but 2-to-1 negative (32% favorable) in his second 50 days. NBC’s coverage was more consistent over time, as Bush received 41 percent favorable evaluations in the first 50 days and 42 percent in the second 50.

Top Stories Go Global

A new administration is defined not only by the rollout of its policy agenda, but also by its handling of unexpected events. Despite his intended focus on domestic policy, international news received the most attention during the first 100 days of the Bush administration – particularly issues that involved Americans abroad. The United States Navy surveillance plane’s emergency landing in China and subsequent negotiations was the biggest story during this period, logging 328 minutes of airtime.

For the 11-day duration of this story, coverage of the crew members held in China averaged over 11 stories a night, receiving more airtime in 11 days than the 1999 capture of American POWs in Serbia did in over a month. Their coverage also exceeded the combined airtime given the 1999 NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy and President Clinton’s controversial 1998 China tour. Further, the story narrowly avoided being depicted as a hostage crisis. A search of major newspapers during the first eight days after the accident, the crew was described as “detained” rather than “hostages” in three of every five references. In two of the last three days before their release, however, a majority of news stories described them as being held “hostage.”

Other major international stories were the foot-and-mouth disease scare in Europe, with considerable attention to its potential to reach the United States (2nd with 206 minutes); the USS Greeneville accident in the Pacific (ranked 5th, 156 minutes); and continuing unrest between Israel and the Palestinians (ranked 7th, 109 minutes).

An unprecedented development was the networks’ persistent coverage of the previous incumbent, which centered mainly on Bill Clinton’s eleventh-hour pardons. The lingering scrutiny of them – particularly the Marc Rich pardon – resulted in the pardons ranking 6th with 134 minutes of coverage.

Rounding out the top ten stories during this period were energy concerns (3rd with 191 minutes), Bush’s tax cut plan (4th at 189 minutes), Robert Hanssen’s espionage (8th at 80), the floods in the Midwest (9th at 71 minutes) and the Santana High School shooting (10th at 69 minutes).

Laugh Tracks

Bill Clinton’s term may have ended in the Oval Office, but the former president remains firmly entrenched as late-night television’s chief whipping boy. The hosts of “The Tonight Show,” “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “Politically Incorrect” barely seemed to notice the presidential transition, as Bill Clinton was the butt of 293 jokes, almost 100 more than President Bush’s joke total of 200 over the first hundred days of Bush's administration.

As further evidence of the Clinton administration’s late night legacy, a majority of the top ten joke targets were leftovers from his term: former Vice President Al Gore (65 jokes, ranked 3rd); Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (38 jokes, ranked 4th); Roger Clinton (16 jokes, ranked 7th); Hugh Rodham (15 jokes, ranked 8th), and Monica Lewinsky (6 jokes, ranked 9th) received jabs long after the transfer of power. Also in the top ten were Rev. Jesse Jackson (32 jokes, ranked 5th), Vice President Dick Cheney (30 jokes, ranked 6th) and Attorney General John Ashcroft and former Senator Bob Dole (4 jokes apiece, tied for 10th).

Sample Jokes:

“You know who first broke the pardon scandal? The National Enquirer. Then President Clinton denied it, and nobody believed him. We’ve now reached the point where the President of the United States has less credibility than the National Enquirer.”– Leno, 2/27/01

“Former President Clinton remembered Daylight Savings Time. Sunday morning at precisely 2:00 am, he moved an intern’s hand forward.” – Letterman, 4/3/01

“It’s been reported that, this year, children that attend the White House Easter Egg Roll are going to be frisked for weapons by the secret service. In fact, they’ve threatened to arrest any child who tells President Bush there’s no Easter Bunny. – O’Brien, 4/13/01

“George W. Bush has no luck when it comes to China. Last night, he’s out having dinner at a Chinese restaurant and they bring him the fortune cookie. He opens it up. Guess what? It’s another ballot for Al Gore.” – Letterman, 4/11/01

“Today is ‘Take Your Daughter to Work’ Day, a lot of fun. Dick Cheney took his daughter to work. They did all of George W. Bush’s daughters’ work.”– Leno, 4/26/01

“Today President Bush announced that all 24 members of the American spy plane crew were finally released from China. Very good news. George W. says his next goal is to get the castaways off ‘Gilligan’s Island.’” – O’Brien, 4/11/01

Media Monitor(Copyright ©2001) is published bi-monthly by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-partisan and nonprofit research organization. The Center conducts scientific studies of how the media treat social and political issues. Yearly individual and organizational subscriptions are available. Visit our home page at www.cmpa.com.

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