Bob_Grip's Blog

If you think many in the MSM have already called the election...well, you aren't alone.

     NEW YORK (AP) - John McCain supporters who believe they haven't
gotten a fair shake from the media during the Republican's
candidacy against Barack Obama have a new study to point to.
      Comments made by sources, voters, reporters and anchors that
aired on ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts over the past two
months reflected positively on Obama in 65 percent of cases,
compared to in 31 percent of cases with regards to McCain,
according to the Center for Media and Public Affairs.
      ABC's "World News" had more balance than NBC's "Nightly
News" or the "CBS Evening News," the group said.
      Meanwhile, the first half of Fox News Channel's "Special
Report" with Brit Hume showed more balance than any of the network
broadcasters, although it was dominated by negative evaluations of
both campaigns. The center didn't evaluate programs on CNN or
MSNBC.
      "For whatever reason, the media are portraying Barack Obama as
a better choice for president than John McCain," said Robert
Lichter, a George Mason University professor and head of the
center. "If you watch the evening news, you'd think you should
vote for Obama."
      The center analyzed 979 separate news stories shown between Aug.
23 and Oct. 24, and excluded evaluations based on the campaign
horse race, including mention of how the candidates were doing in
polls. For instance, when a voter was interviewed on CBS Oct. 14
saying he thought Obama brought a freshness to Washington, that was
chalked up as a pro-Obama comment.
      When NBC's Andrea Mitchell reported Oct. 1 that some
conservatives say that Sarah Palin is not ready for prime-time,
that's marked in the negative column for McCain.
      ABC recorded 57 percent favorable comments toward the Democrats,
and 42 percent positive for the Republicans. NBC had 56 percent
positive for the Democrats, 16 percent for the Republicans. CBS had
73 percent positive (Obama), versus 31 percent (McCain).
      Hume's telecast had 39 percent favorable comments for McCain and
28 percent positive for the Democratic ticket.
      It was the second study in two weeks to remark upon negative
coverage for the McCain-Palin ticket. The Project for Excellence in
Journalism concluded last week that McCain's coverage has been
overwhelmingly negative since the conventions ended, while Obama's
has been more mixed.
      Meanwhile, another survey issued Friday by the Pew Research
Center for the People & the Press showed that television continues
to be Americans' main source for campaign news, particularly the
cable news networks.
      But there were clear partisan differences in where people
turned.
      For instance, of the people who said they got most of their
campaign news from Fox News Channel, 52 percent identified
themselves as Republican, 17 percent as Democrats and 30 percent as
independents, the Pew center said.
      MSNBC viewers interested in campaign news identified themselves
at 11 percent Republican, 50 percent Democratic and 36 percent
independent. The breakdown for CNN: 13 percent Republican, 45
percent Democrat, 38 percent independent.
      The study was based on a survey of 2,011 people taken Oct. 17-20
and 24-27. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent.