|
|
|
September Was A Network Low
The Hess Report by Stephen Hess
USA Today (10/09/00)
We have just lived through the worst September in the history of the networks' evening news programs in terms of their reporting on a presidential election.
No sense beating around the bush. The Hess Report has been tracking Dan Rather, Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw since Labor Day, and that's our conclusion.
Two important benchmarks: 1992, the high-water mark for election reporting on the evening news; 1996, the low-water mark. Every investigation starts with a hunch. Mine was that 2000 would fit between these two points, but would be closer to '92 because this is such a close race and no incumbent is running.
Instead, after four weeks, the networks are below the 1996 level. The number of minutes of coverage is down 47% from the Bush-Clinton race in '92 and 6% from Clinton-Dole four years ago. The number of campaign stories declined 43% from '92 and 15% from '96.
Why? Politics gets less attention when urgent stories are competing for limited time. It's an explanation worth exploring. In September 1996, our TV screens were filled with dramatic pictures of angry surf and people seeking high ground to escape Hurricane Fran. There were also U.S. cruise missile attacks on Iraq. Such powerful events reduced the time available for campaign reporting.
But what about this September? Last month's lead stories included the marketing of R-rated programs to children, positive drug testing at the Olympic games, a recall of taco shells and the firing of Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight. They're not exactly earth-shattering. When ABC, CBS and NBC chose to go light on campaign news, it was not because they were short on time.
|
|
THIS WEEK'S AWARDS |
|
|
Governance Award:
Martha Raddatz, correspondent; Jay LaMonica, producer; "Military Readiness," Nightline (ABC), Sept. 25
|
|
|
Campaign Award:
John Roberts, correspondent; Max McClellan, producer; "Prescription Drugs," CBS Evening News (CBS), Sept. 27.
|
|
|
Interview Award:
Tim Russert, interviewer; Nancy B. Nathan, producer; interview with Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan, Meet the Press (NBC), Oct. 1.
|
|
|
Fred W. Friendly Award:
Margaret Warner, correspondent; Mary Jo Brooks, producer; "Florida," The Newshour with Jim Lehrer (PBS), Sept. 29.
|
|
|
|
The reason, reporters I've talked to say, is that "New York" (news media headquarters, that is) contends that Americans are not interested in this election, and the networks don't give their consumers what they're not interested in. If correct, it's the same lotus-eating logic that cut this summer's convention coverage to the bone and stuttered over airing the first debate. There are some stories that we deserve as citizens.
The 114 stories the networks have given us through Oct. 1 remain heavily tilted in favor of the horse race over substance, much more so than in the previous two elections. One in five stories prefers poll-gazing to shoe-leather journalism. There is also a lurching quality to horse-race coverage. Week 1: evaluations of Bush, 21% positive and 79% negative. Week 3: Gore's evaluations, 22% positive and 78% negative. Apparently, this is reporting that seeks the golden mean by averaging.
Yet there remain raisins in the oatmeal, fine stories by dedicated journalists that earn commendation. The winners of the Hess Report awards for Sept.25-Oct. 1 (details for these and past winners can be found at www.brookings.edu/hessreport):
Governance Award: Martha Raddatz, correspondent; Jay LaMonica, producer; "Military Readiness," Nightline (ABC), Sept. 25.
Campaign Award: John Roberts, correspondent; Max McClellan, producer; "Prescription Drugs," CBS Evening News (CBS), Sept. 27.
Interview Award: Tim Russert, interviewer; Nancy B. Nathan, producer; interview with Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan, Meet the Press (NBC), Oct. 1.
Fred Friendly Award for long-form journalism: Margaret Warner, correspondent; Mary Jo Brooks, producer; "Florida," The Newshour with Jim Lehrer (PBS), Sept. 29.
©COPYRIGHT 2000 USA
TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
WEEK 4: 2000 ELECTION DATA
Horse Race and Substance Stories as Percent of Total Campaign Coverage: Weeks 1-4 of General Election
Substantive stories are those providing extensive discussion of policy issues or the candidates’ qualifications or professional background, or both. Horse Race stories focus on who’s ahead, who’s behind, and candidate election strategies. Statistics on the percent of stories based on total number of election stories from that particular news organization. Both substantive policy issues and election strategies/horse race topics may be found within the same story. Based on 246 stories from August 31, 1992 to September 27, 1992; 166 stories from September 2, 1996 to September 29, 1996; 114 stories from September 4, 2000 to October 1, 2000 from the ABC, CBS, and NBC evening news.
Data: Center For Media And Public Affairs/Brookings
Horse Race and Substance Stories as Percent of Total Campaign Coverage: Weeks 1-4 of General Election
2000
Substantive stories are those providing extensive discussion of policy issues or the candidates’ qualifications or professional background, or both. Horse Race stories focus on who’s ahead, who’s behind, and candidate election strategies. Statistics on the percent of stories based on total number of election stories from that particular news organization. Both substantive policy issues and election strategies/horse race topics may be found within the same story. Based on 114 stories from September 4, 2000 to October 1, 2000 from the ABC, CBS, and NBC evening news. Between September 4-29, 2000 PBS’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer aired 88 campaign stories, of those stories 73% discussed substantive policy issues and 26% discussed election strategies and/or horse race topics.
Data: Center For Media And Public Affairs/Brookings
Number of Campaign Stories : ABC, CBS, NBC
Based on 114 stories from September 4, 2000 to October 1, 2000 from the ABC, CBS, and NBC evening news. PBS’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer aired 88 campaign stories between September 4-29, 2000.
Data: Center For Media And Public Affairs/Brookings
Minutes Devoted to Campaign Coverage: ABC, CBS, NBC
2000
Based on 114 stories from September 4, 2000 to October 1, 2000 from the ABC, CBS, and NBC evening news. Between the dates September 4-29, 2000 PBS’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer devoted 393 minutes to campaign coverage (based on 88 campaign stories).
Data: Center For Media And Public Affairs/Brookings
Tone of Candidate Coverage: General Election
2000
|
GORE |
Positive |
Negative |
|
Week 1 |
45% |
55% |
|
Week 2 |
56% |
44% |
|
Week 3 |
22% |
78% |
|
Week 4 |
60% |
40% |
|
BUSH |
Positive |
Negative |
|
Week 1 |
21% |
79% |
|
Week 2 |
47% |
53% |
|
Week 3 |
*NA |
*NA |
|
Week 4 |
39% |
61% |
Statistics on the percent of positive and negative evaluations based on total number of evaluations in the stories. Explicitly negative and positive statements by non-partisan sources were considered when judging whether coverage was negative or positive. Based on 114 stories from September 4, 2000 to October1, 2000 from the ABC, CBS, and NBC evening news. Between September 4-September 29, 2000 PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer had 68% positive and 32% negative evaluations of Bush, and 73% positive and 27% negative evaluations of Gore.
During Week 3 there were too few evaluations for George W. Bush to report meaningful results.
Data: Center For Media And Public Affairs/Brookings
|
|
|
top |
home |
search |
site info |
contact us!
