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 with in 31 percent of cases about McCain, aid the Center for Media and Public Affairs.
ABC's "World News" -- with 57 percent favorable comments toward Democrats vs. 42 percent for the Republicans -- had more balance than NBC's "Nightly News" or the "CBS Evening News," it said. NBC had 56 percent for Democrats vs. 16 percent for the GOP while CBS was 73 percent vs. 31 percent.
The first half of Fox News Channel's "Special Report" with Brit Hume showed more balance than any of the network broadcasters -- with 39 percent favorable comments for McCain and 28 percent positive for Obama -- although it was dominated by negative evaluations of both campaigns.
"For whatever reason, the media are portraying Barack Obama as a better choice," said Robert Lichter, a George Mason University professor and head of the center.
The center analyzed 979 news stories from Aug. 23 to Oct. 24. For instance, when a voter was interviewed on CBS saying he thought Obama brought a freshness to Washington, that was chalked up as a pro-Obama comment. When NBC's Andrea Mitchell reported that some conservatives say that Sarah Palin is not ready for prime-time, that's marked in the negative column for McCain.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
