Special Report:
U.S. presidential election
2008
WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican
presidential nominee John McCain got much more negative news coverage than his
Democratic opponent Barack Obama, according to a new study by Center for Media
and Public Affairs (CMPA).
Since the general election campaign started in June,
comments about Obama on the network evening news shows have been 65 percent
positive, compared to only 36 percent positive comments about McCain, according
to the study, which was released Friday.
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U.S. Republican presidential nominee
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) speaks at a campaign rally in Columbus, Ohio
October 31, 2008. McCain is on a two-day campaign bus tour through the
state of Ohio.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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In
the presidential primaries in the first half of the year, Obama's news coverage
was 62 percent positive on the broadcast networks.
By contrast, McCain's coverage during the primaries
was only 34percent positive, almost the same as his general election coverage.
Despite a brief flurry of good press during the GOP
convention, comments about Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate, have been only 42
percent positive.
The study also finds that network news coverage of
this election is more substantive than in other recent presidential campaigns.
The coverage of policy issues and the candidates'
records has outpaced "horse race" coverage of their poll standings and campaign
strategies by 36 to 31 percent of all stories on the broadcast networks, for
only the second time since 1988.
The CMPA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research
organization which is affiliated with George Mason University.
It has monitored news coverage of every presidential
election since 1988.
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U.S. Republican presidential nominee
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) speaks at a campaign rally in Columbus, Ohio
October 31, 2008. Onstage with Senator McCain are (L-R) singer Hank
Williams Jr., U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Cindy McCain.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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A woman wears a T-shirt referring to U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) at a campaign rally with U.S. Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain (R-AZ) in Columbus, Ohio October 31, 2008. Senator McCain is on a two-day campaign bus tour through the state of Ohio. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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