A study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs shows that the media biased. Big news, eh? But the extent of it is shocking… when Fox News is added to the mix.
Evaluations of John Kerry were positive by a two-to-one margin, while evaluations of George W. Bush were over 60 percent negative
• Among non-partisan sources, Kerry’s evaluations were almost three-to-one positive; Bush’s were over two-to-one negative.
• Among the networks, the gap between the candidates was largest on NBC; the coverage was most balanced on ABC.
• Kerry’s proportion of good press declined in August, but he still fared far better than Bush until the GOP convention.
• Bush got better than Kerry only during the GOP convention, which also was the only time he received a majority of positive evaluations.
• Based on CMPA’s previous studies of primary and general election coverage, Kerry has gotten the best press on network news of any presidential nominee since we began tracking election news in 1988.
• The coverage has focused more on the candidates’ policies and personal characteristics than on the campaign horse race.
The Fox News Difference
• Fox News Channel was about as negative towards Bush as the broadcast networks, but Kerry’s evaluations were negative by a five-to-one margin.• There was little difference in the evaluations of party- and campaign-based partisan sources, but Bush fared over four times as well as Kerry among non-partisan sources.
So, despite their “fair and balanced” motto, Fox News is more than TWICE as biased as other news outlets.
Hey, I report, you decide.
