Media Reports Hard on Clinton, Fox Most Balanced, Study Says

Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has been the subject of more negative reporting than her closest competitor, Senator Barack Obama, says a new study by George Mason University's Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA). The study also says that a comparison of election news reports from the three major news networks and Fox News Channel reveals that Fox's evening news show is the most balanced of the four.

CMPA says that reports about Clinton were negative nearly 60 percent of the time, while reports on Obama were more than 60 percent positive. The findings of the study support assertions made by some analysts that the mainstream media in general finds Obama a more attractive candidate for the presidency. Radford University's Whim Internet Magazine operates a web site that argues media bias of presidential elections could potentially, through inaccurate polling, selective reporting, and negative characterizations of candidates, influence electoral outcomes. The site says media bias occurs when news reporters fail to stop their stories after the facts are provided, and instead go on to answer why facts or events are important. The attempt to answer the question "why" can lead to multiple answers, the site says, depending upon the person analyzing the events or facts.

In the comparison of the major news networks and Fox News Channel, the study found that Fox News reports on Democratic presidential contenders were 51 percent positive and 49 percent negative, while for Republican contenders the percentages were 49 percent positive and 51 percent negative. For the three major news networks, the study found that reporting of Democratic candidates was 47 percent positive and 53 percent negative, and reports on Republican candidates was 40 percent positive and 60 percent negative.

Despite the study's finding that Senator Clinton is the recipient of the majority of negative news reporting, the Democratic presidential hopeful maintains an 18 percent lead in a national poll on RealClearPolitics.com.

The Center for Media and Public Affairs, established in 1985, is a nonpartisan research and educational organization that undertakes scientific studies of news and entertainment media. CMPA says the findings of the study resulted from a scientific content analysis of 481 election news reports from ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News Channel that were televised between October 1, 2007 and December 15, 2007.

Sources: Center for Media and Public Affairs web site, Radford University's Whim Internet Magazine Election Bias web site, RealClearPolitics.com web site