On Eve of Pennsylvania Primary Networks Souring on Democratic Contenders as Primary Battle Continues

On Eve of Pennsylvania Primary Networks Souring on Democratic Contenders as Primary Battle Continues

Obama Unscathed by Rev. Wright Controversy

WASHINGTON, April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Barack Obama's lead over Hillary Clinton in the race for good press has shrunk but he still has a substantial lead, according to a new study of the broadcast network evening newscasts by the Center for Media and Public Affairs. The researchers found the Reverend Wright controversy did not hurt Senator Obama's advantage.

These results are from the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) 2008 Election News Watch Project. They are based on a scientific content analysis of 933 election news stories (28 hours 29 minutes of airtime) that aired on the evening news shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC from December 16, 2007 through March 22, 2008. We report the evaluations by non-partisan sources, excluding comments by the candidates and campaigns about each other, because research shows that non-partisan sources have the most influence on public opinion, and they are also more subject to the discretion of reporters.

MAJOR FINDINGS:

Positive Comments on Obama Slip after Super Tuesday but the Wright Controversy Did Not Hurt Him.

Comments on Senator Obama aired on the three major television networks had been at a lofty 88% positive for the period from 12/16/07 to 2/5/08, but dropped to a still impressive 62% positive during the 6 week period after the Super-Tuesday primary (2/6/08 to 3/22/08.) Furthermore, Senator Obama's overall positive image remained unaffected by the Reverend Wright controversy. During that period, Obama's positive press remained at 62%.

Positive comments about Senator Clinton on the three major television networks have continued to erode; down to 48% from the 53% she enjoyed during the pre-Super Tuesday period.

                        PERCENT POSITIVE EVALUATIONS                         ABC, NBC, CBS evening news    PERIOD                                       OBAMA            CLINTON    Pre-Super Tuesday        12/16 to 2/5    88% positive       53% positive     Post-Super Tuesday       2/6 to 3/22     62% positive       48% positive     Rev. Wright              3/13 to 3/22    62% positive       40% positive    Controversy    Period     What Horse Race?  

Since Super Tuesday, 96% of comments about Sen. Obama's prospects for winning the Democratic nomination have been optimistic, compared to only 47% on Senator Clinton's prospects.

Examples:

"The speech spoke to the elites of America...it spoke to a completely different audience than the folks in that bowling alley." Political Strategist

"Refusing to repudiate Rev. Wright today was in many ways an act of honor for Senator Obama ... it's got to count for something." George Stephanopoulos

CMPA has monitored every presidential election since 1988 using the same methodology, in which trained coders tally all mentions of candidates and issues and all evaluations of candidates. For CMPA findings on previous elections see http://cmpa.com/studies/election08/election08.htm/.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Center for Media and Public Affairs

CONTACT: Donald Rieck, Center for Media and Public Affairs,
+1-202-223-2942

Web site: http://cmpa.com/studies/election08/election08.htm

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