NEW YORK, February 23, 2004 - Has the media courtship of Senator John Kerry begun to sour?

A report released today by MediaChannel.org and Media Tenor reveals the relationship between Kerry and the three networks' nightly news programs took a dive last week after a month of positive coverage for the frontrunner. Meanwhile, the Democrats' other John, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, received more positive reporting from ABC, CBS and NBC than in any other week since his campaign for the US presidency began.

The Dean Effect

Analysis of Kerry's coverage of February 16-20 indicates a decline similar to that experienced by Governor Howard Dean in the week prior to his poor showing in the Iowa caucus -- revealing a broadcast media pattern of favorable press for a frontrunner followed by a sudden rise in negative coverage just prior to a primary or caucus vote.

According to data gathered for MediaChannel.org by international media monitoring firm Media Tenor, 18.2 percent of the networks' coverage of John Kerry last week cast the candidate in a negative light. This marks a considerable increase over the previous week, February 9-13, when only 8.5 percent of all network statements about Kerry were negative.

During the week prior to the Iowa caucus negative statements about Dean reached a high of 16 percent, following months of Dean coverage that was characterized as either neutral or positive in content.

"Before the Iowa caucus, TV news coverage of the Democratic candidates focused heavily on Howard Dean," said Media Tenor President Roland Schatz. "According to our research, media usually create frontrunners only to turn them into a heightened target of criticism."

"Despite his victory in Wisconsin, the image of John Kerry is no longer as impressive as it used to be," Schatz said. "His media presence [the total number of statements made by the networks] has declined and his overall rating is no longer as positive."

Contributing to Kerry's media problems was the rising profile last week of Senator Edwards. The former trial lawyers' campaign put their candidate's charm offensive into high gear. Edwards' media momentum gained speed following his strong Wisconsin showing, as more broadcasters shone their lights upon an image-friendly candidate whose courtroom-honed delivery was tailor made for the camera.

MediaChannel/Media Tenor is continuing its analysis of network coverage in the run-up to the March 2 "Super Tuesday" vote involving ballots in ten states. Results in the forthcoming weeks will reveal a clearer picture of the manner by which media coverage affects Super Tuesday election outcomes.

Edwards Turns on Charm -- Networks Turn on Cameras

Positive statements about Senator John Edwards rose last week to 43.1 percent of all coverage of the candidate during the nightly news broadcasts. In the week before last, February 9-13, only 20.4 percent of statements about Edwards were positive. Moreover, the three networks made nearly three times as many statements (153) last week about Edwards than during the week before (54). Negative network news statements about the senator last week stood at a low 3.9 percent of all his coverage.

Edwards' ability to connect through his populist message and pledge to keep jobs in this country has resonated with voters, particularly those in many Super Tuesday states who have had the opportunity to see him in person.

During a speech this weekend in upstate New York, Edwards said the hardest thing for him in the upcoming debates with Kerry is to "make sure I continue my positive message of hope, but that I make it clear to the voters what the differences are between Sen. Kerry and myself ... not just in policy but as a candidate against George Bush."

Edwards' positive message is getting across on the nightly news broadcasts as well. He has been riding a wave of positive coverage following his strong second-place showing in the February 17 Wisconsin primary, which precipitated Howard Dean's withdrawal from the race.

Since Wisconsin, news media have portrayed the Democratic nomination as a race between two men, Edwards and Kerry. While Al Sharpton and Dennis Kucinich also remain contenders, their cumulative share of network news coverage last week amounted to a broadcast snub: the networks devoted only 0.27 percent of their coverage of the candidates to Kucinich and Sharpton, according to MediaChannel/Media Tenor data.

Networks Air Bush's Policy Statements, Ignore the Dems'

MediaChannel/Media Tenor data continues to reveal a virtual network blackout of Democratic candidates' stances on the political issues that matter most to Americans. Only 7.4 percent of NBC, CBS and ABC's nightly news coverage of all the candidates for the 2004 presidential is devoted to their policy positions in general.

The opposite is true for coverage of the incumbent. From February 1 through 19, policy statements by President George Bush make up 37.4 percent of all network news statements about the GOP candidate.

Network coverage dwindles even further when focusing on Democratic candidates' positions on the four issues that matter most to Americans as determined by a recent CBS news poll -- the economy/jobs, the War in Iraq/foreign policy, health care, and education.

Thus far in February, network news statements about the Democratic positions on these issues amounts to fewer than 4 percent of all coverage of the candidates. This echoes earlier MediaChannel/Media Tenor data, which shows that the networks devoted fewer than 5 percent of their news coverage to candidates' positions on the political issues that are most important to American voters.

View the Media Tenor data

-- Timothy Karr is executive director of MediaChannel.org, which earlier this month launched Media for Democracy 2004 (www.mediafordemocracy.us), a citizens-powered initiative to hold mainstream media to a higher standard of election coverage.

© MediaChannel.org, 2004. All rights reserved.

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