In Monday's Washington Post, media reporter Howard Kurtz reported on the latest study on Obama coverage from the Center for Media and Public Affairs. The results are as expected:
The networks have given President Obama more coverage than George W. Bush and Bill Clinton combined in their first months -- and more positive assessments to boot.
In a study to be released today, the Center for Media and Public Affairs and Chapman University found the nightly newscasts devoting nearly 28 hours to Obama's presidency in the first 50 days. (Bush, by contrast, got nearly eight hours.) Fifty-eight percent of the evaluations of Obama were positive on the ABC, CBS and NBC broadcasts, compared with 33 percent positive in the comparable period of Bush's tenure and 44 percent positive for Clinton. (Evaluations by officials from the administration or either political party were not counted.)
CMPA tabulators also studied some programming on the Fox News Channel to compare and contrast:
On Fox News, by contrast, only 13 percent of the assessments of Obama were positive on the first half of Bret Baier's "Special Report," which most resembles a newscast. The president got far better treatment in the New York Times, where 73 percent of the assessments in front-page pieces were positive.
A striking contrast: Obama's personal qualities drew more favorable coverage than his policies, with 32 percent of the sound bites positive on CBS, 31 percent positive on NBC and 8 percent positive on Fox.
MRC will also have some research on the first few months of Obama TV news coverage this week.
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
I'm sure they will claim
April 27, 2009 - 07:38 ET by motherbeltI'm sure they will claim that it's because he deserved so much more.
Not only because of being the first black President, but because he's the messiah, you know! Everything about him is groundbreaking!!
And there certainly isn't anything unfavorable to be reported on him!
So see? They're not biased; they're just being fair and doing their job, which, according to Chris Matthews, is to make sure he succeeds! Or at least to make it appear that he is succeeding.
They might say "Wow, that sucks!" But at least they'll say "Wow!" -Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes
Obama has become a real
April 27, 2009 - 07:47 ET by MidAmericaObama has become a real life version of the movie The Truman Show.
Coverage?
April 27, 2009 - 07:48 ET by JWFEvery time I turn on the TV, President Obama is giving another speech. Who has time for assessments or coverage?
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.
Or a press conference
April 27, 2009 - 07:57 ET by motherbeltHave we ever had a President who demanded so much attention in prime time?
Next he'll have to bail out the netoworks which are losing money hand over fist as he takes over the airwaves.
They might say "Wow, that sucks!" But at least they'll say "Wow!" -Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes
Last week in the Washington Post...
April 27, 2009 - 08:17 ET by Prester John...one of the TV reporters referred to it as "the return of Obamavision".
I'm sure she has since received counseling on the need to show the proper respect and deference to BHO in the future.
The great Obama
April 27, 2009 - 11:09 ET by merlin61Read Drudge Report today. The "Teleprompter
in Charge" took over for POTUS today,
embarrassing Mr. Obama. I think this is
hysterically funny, and its only going to get
better each time he makes a speech using the
teleprompter. Also, according to Harry Reid,
Obama said he has a "gift" for his wonderful
speech giving talent. Barf, barf, barf. Talk
about tootin your own horn.
I love it.
April 27, 2009 - 07:59 ET by pbthinkerThe beauty of all this positive coverage is that, once the policies they're praising don't work, the MSM will have to defend its coverage. The public really does need to be informed on these issues and they're still only getting one side of it from the MSM. If it weren't for alternative media, the public would be in the dark about the legislation being proposed.
I've yet to see one story, in the MSM, complaining that the Democrats have unfettered power to pass anything they want with no possible moderation from the Republicans. Where are all the stories about the need for bi-partisan solutions to the problems, etc?
Election 2008-God's way of showing us that elections count.
Well maybe not
April 27, 2009 - 08:19 ET by general companyThe beauty of all this positive coverage is that, once the policies
they're praising don't work, the MSM will have to defend its
coverage.
Unfortunatly, they will not defend it. they will use the bad news to further their cause. All bad news will be deflected from the folks responsible (if their liberals that is) and will be directed at those those of us who continue to be out of step, in their eyes. Never forget, the truth is not importaint to the liberal, only the cause.
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Slightly off topic, but....
April 27, 2009 - 08:26 ET by Prester John....a shout out to Joe Scarborough.
This morning the panel was talking about the terror memos, BHO deferring to his Attorney General regarding possible prosecution of Bush administration officials, etc. and Joe not only quoted Eric Holder's 2002 (?) statement that the terrorists are NOT covered by the Geneva Conventions (and had Holder's words on the screen) but noted everybody and their brother in Congress knew about the interrogation techniques..
The airhead was noticably quiet during that particular segment.
Another brave decision by
April 27, 2009 - 09:20 ET by motherbeltAnother brave decision by our fledgling President....defer to the AG....didn't Bill Clinton defer to another AG in another time?
The buck never gets here......
They might say "Wow, that sucks!" But at least they'll say "Wow!" -Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes
hummm...
April 27, 2009 - 08:21 ET by jdripperThis tidbit of information is not exactly "alert the media" type of news.
Jack
"If at age 20 you are a conservative then you have no heart. If at age 30 you are a liberal then you have no brains." Sir Winston Churchill
Dear Leader
April 27, 2009 - 09:01 ET by slickwillie2001I believe Dear Leader has demanded another hour from the networks this week, on Tuesday night.
Re the stats, I would like to know if (example) when 7% of Fox News is positive, does that mean 93% is negative, or does it mean that X% is negative and Y% is balanced? More information needed.
They Needed a Study?
April 27, 2009 - 10:07 ET by ConScottWow......They actually needed a study to arrive at this conclusion? Why? Why waste the money?
Why not just request each network for their programming plans and news agendas, like a year ago, and then file it in the same manner as celebrity obits?
Talk about your boilerplates..........
How can I get one of these cool jobs?
Spit-shining Obama
April 27, 2009 - 12:05 ET by pocomocoIn the future, when the abysmal history of the MSM is written, there will be great sounds of laughter because of their constant spit-shining of the shoes of an incompetent president.
Because they concentrated on hatred, the character assassination of others, then apple-polished the news about his every exploit, the unsophisticated public didn’t buy it and told the MSM to go to hell.
Daily, we hear of news organizations closing their doors asking themselves ‘why is this happening’? A new movie entitled “clueless2” should be written about the MSM and their inability to understand their demise.
The movie should be subtitled: THEY SERVED THEMSELVES AND NOT THE PUBLIC!
If the schools of journalism are worth anything in the future, they should teach, in journalism 101: HOW TO SERVE THE PUBLIC.
He also has spent more money
April 27, 2009 - 13:58 ET by b4m4wyHe also has spent more money than Bush and Clinton combined.