13,000 front-page articles examined in 20-year study of news
Posted on 07/24/2003 12:25:32 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
A new journalism study reveals news coverage about the federal government has plummeted in the last two decades, and the amount provided tends to favor Democrats over Republicans.
The report, entitled "Government: In and Out of the News," is being issued by the Washington-based Council for Excellence in Government.
The study examined more than 400 hours of airtime from the broadcast television networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) as well as some 13,000 front-page newspaper articles from national publications (the New York Times and Washington Post), and four regional papers: the Austin American-Statesman, Des Moines Register, San Jose Mercury News, and St. Petersburg Times.
13,000 front-page articles examined in 20-year study of news |
It found the number of stories touching on the federal government since 1981 dropped by 31 percent on TV, by 12 percent in the national print press and by 39 percent in the regional newspapers.
The report focused on news during the first year of the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and found coverage of all three combined was nearly two to one negative in tone, with Republicans the recipients of more negative reports.
News stories most often focused on the executive branch, comprising 70 percent of content in newspapers and 80 percent of network news.
According to the study:
The proportion of favorable comments toward the executive branch ranged from a high of only 40 percent positive (i.e., 60 percent negative) toward the Clinton administration on network news, to a low of 25 percent positive (vs. 75 percent negative) toward the Reagan administration in the New York Times.
Similarly, congressional Democrats received "only" 2-to-1 margins of criticism over praise, compared to an even worse three-to-one negative margin of opinions about Republicans. This was less a question of which party was praised more than of which party was criticized less.
Coverage of Congress at times had more than a 10-to-1 negative margin, irrespective of party affiliation.
The analysis noted a dramatic increase in the amount of opinion that's embedded with news reports, "as the emphasis of political news shifts from factual description to analysis and judgment."
It found an overall 20 percent hike in the amount of opinionated evaluations in stories, with television news a "startling" force for change, more than doubling the amount of evaluations with an increase of 138 percent.
 Dan Rather currently in ratings cellar (CBS photo) |
"The surge in opinions expressed in the network newscasts is a powerful indicator of a shift toward a more analytical and judgmental style of presenting government news on television," the summary noted.
Overall, the study shows the Clinton administration receiving more favorable coverage than its Republican counterparts, but the difference was clearest between the Clinton and Reagan terms:
Based on all evaluations, Clinton's administration was favored over Reagan's to a statistically significant degree in all news genres – television news, the Times and Post, and the regional newspapers. In addition, Clinton's domestic policies were treated significantly better than Reagan's at all press outlets studied, and his foreign policies fared better in television news and the regional newspapers. ...
By contrast, George W. Bush's presidency was treated about equally with Clinton's in the national media, except for a slight tilt toward the Clinton team's domestic policy in the New York Times. In the regional papers, however, the Clinton administration was favored overall, as well as in the realm of domestic policy.
Other key findings from the research:
Seriously. As if this is something that hasn't been known forever...this is some revelation?
| Professor's Study Shows Liberal Bias in News Media | ||||||
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Great Debate#9 Break up Microsoft?...Then how about the media "Big Six"? [ ... -Poll confirms Ivy League liberal tilt--
A poll by the Center for the Study of Social and Political Change in 1992, eighty-three percent of film and television writers, directors and producers voted for Bill Clinton. Eighty-three percent. The vote that Clinton received in the country at large, forty-three percent.
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The sky is blue.
The moon shines at night.
Bears ______ in the woods.
The French are cheese-eating-surrender-monkeys
I suppose someone should show this study to the liberal media, but they won't ever admit it. Then again, someone should show this to President Bush and the pubbies. They have to use the bully pulpit to fight this. They have to realize how little people are hearing of what Republican ideas are. The media distorts everything. If I were the Republicans. I would have people watching the main Press ABC, NBC,CBS and the others and have them keep a catalog of the lies and distortions reported there. Then have President Bush adress and correct them whenever he gets the chance to give a speech. Not everyone has cable and access to FOX News unfortunatley.
Probably the same sources, now they just chuck the civil-service position and use the media to build a name for themselves and get a bigger paycheck.
Bump.
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