New York, May 9, 2008: As some pundits already send “A Farewell to Hillary” – as Charles Krauthammer put it in the Washington Post - current media analysis does not yet fully support the conclusion that Senator Clinton’s candidacy is a hopeless bid now – at least when comparing media coverage of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. “The media present a split image of the Democratic race to the American public,” reports Markus Rettich, Head of Political Analysis at Media Tenor International, “Clinton has lost last week’s TV momentum, but Obama has not completely won it.”

Media Tenor’s analysis includes Thursday’s evening news. The question is if media pressure on Clinton will get intense enough to force her to concede. “And the answer is: not yet,” says Rettich. Obama’s victory in North Carolina was presented as an important step towards nomination, but it has not pushed away last week’s concerns about his political agenda. Obama was said to be the party’s favorite, but when other Democrats are quoted he only has a narrow lead.

“It’s only a horse race push,” says Rettich, “this might help Obama in opinion polls, but it might only be a bandwagon effect. Obama still has a way to go to convince more voters.”

Whereas the discussion of the Democratic race has increased the coverage of both candidates, media interest in the Republican nominee has decreased this week: McCain’s “Vision For Defending the World’s Vulnerable” did not draw broad attention. If media awareness is low, a candidate might suffer if negative aspects dominate coverage. “This happened to John McCain last week,” Rettich says. But this week the tone of coverage was balanced.

Clinton has lost media momentum

This North Carolina primary has changed the trend: After last week’s push, Clinton has lost momentum this week. The share of positive statements sharply decreased. Obama was rated better.

ABC, NBC, CBS candidate coverage, 2/11 - 5/8/2008: tone of coverage by weeks

Basis: all statements by or on Clinton and Obama on ABC, CBS, NBC evening news programs 2/11 – 5/8/2008

Concerns remain for Obama

Barack Obama’s strong performance in North Carolina has been presented as a big step towards the nomination. Nevertheless, concerns about his view of society and his general political goals remain.

Newsweek, Time, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox News coverage, 5/5 - 5/8/2008: Obama’s top 5 topics

Basis: a total of 1,145 statements by or on Obama in Newsweek, Time, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX evening news programs 5/5– 5/8/2008

Split image of the Democratic race

Detailed analysis reveals that the analyzed six media published a split image during the last two weeks. The tone of Obama’s coverage was better on ABC news; Clinton was rated more positively on CBS and on the Brit Hume show.

Candidate coverage, 4/28 – 5/8/2008: tone of Obama and Clinton coverage by media outlets

Basis: all statements by or on Obama and Clinton in Newsweek, Time, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox evening news programs 4/28 – 5/8/2008

Balanced coverage of McCain this week

Candidate coverage, 2/11 – 5/8/2008: tone of McCain coverage by weeks

If media awareness is low, a candidate might suffer if negative aspects dominate coverage. This happened to John McCain last week. But this week, the tone of coverage was almost balanced on TV and very positive in Time Magazine.

Basis: all statements by or on McCain in Newsweek, Time, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox evening news programs 2/11 – 5/8/2008

To read the full Media Tenor election report in PDF format click here.

For the third time, International Media analysis company Media Tenor is offering a detailed analysis of the U.S. presidential campaign. TV news coverage of the leading Presidential contenders is scrutinized at a detailed level. “The methodology was developed 15 years ago and has been successfully used not only to analyze the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Presidential campaigns, but also for International politics as well,” Schatz explains. Media Tenor’s Presidential Campaign Watch focuses not only on Candidate standings, but also on topics and sources, while adding on an international perspective. Results of Media Tenor studies will be regularly published on MediaChannel.org.

For further information visit: MediaTenor.com

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The Negative bias in the MEDIA is and was overwhelming against Hillary made me as a PROUD BLACK WOMAN sick. I will never vote again - and would never support OBAMA and his maniacs.