Visible Coverage Difference of Obama vs. Romney Between MSNBC, FOX
Chart shows percentage of statements about and from Mitt Romney and Barack Obama out of total election coverage for each TV program. “Other” represents discussion of neither candidate. Time frame is May 1 – June 5.
In what might seem a little counter-intuitive, MSNBC is amplifying Romney more than Obama while FOX News is amplifying Obama more than Romney.
Coverage of Obama and Romney varies widely between major political talk shows since May. In election coverage in MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, over half (52%) of the discussion is about Mitt Romney, and 38% is about Barack Obama. Conversely, election coverage in Fox News’ Special Report with Brett Baier shows 50% of statements about Barack Obama and 37% about Mitt Romney. Essentially, the two programs are flipped in terms of their coverage of the two candidates. It is only CNN that has more equal coverage of both, with Romney at 42% and Obama at 43%.
