On Wednesday’s “Special Report,” Fox News anchor Brit Hume cited CMI’s new study, “A Study in Character Assassanation: How the TV Networks Have Portrayed Sarah Palin as Dunce or Demon.”
The study found that the media portrayal of Palin has been overwhelmingly negative, smearing the Alaska governor as an unqualified dunce or demonizing her as McCain’s attack dog.
Hume stated:
CMI PIECE:
An analysis of two weeks of coverage of the GOP vice presidential nominee reveals unremitting hostility from the network news.
By Colleen Raezler and Brian Fitzpatrick, Culture and Media Institute
FULL REPORT
Executive Summary| Pdf Version
In just one month, the percentage of Americans who viewed GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin unfavorably soared from 32 percent to 49 percent, according to a new survey. Might hostile media coverage account for Palin’s skyrocketing unfavorable rating?
Polls conducted in September and October by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press report a stunning reversal in public perceptions of Palin. An October 21 story posted on Pew’s Web site stated: “In the current survey, 49% of voters express an unfavorable opinion of the Alaska governor, while 44% express a positive opinion; in mid-September, 54% viewed Palin favorably, compared with 32% who had an unfavorable opinion.
According to a Nexis search, the networks ran 69 news segments covering Palin between September 29 and October 12, a period that included the October 2 vice-presidential debate. CMI analyzed all 69 segments and found that 37 portrayed Palin negatively, only two were positive, and 30 were neutral.
CMI defined “positive” stories as stories that included more elements placing Palin in a favorable light than elements criticizing her. “Neutral” stories contained equal numbers of positive and negative elements, represented straightforward factual reporting, or treated Palin and Democratic vice-presidential nominee Del. Sen. Joe Biden equally. “Negative” stories contained more unfavorable elements than favorable, or gave preferential treatment to Biden. For example, on NBC’s October 3 Today show, reporter Amy Robach said Palin “accused” Biden of “looking backwards,” but she said Biden merely “challenged” whether GOP candidate John McCain is truly a “maverick.”
ABC was the most biased of the three networks. Out of ABC’s 15 segments about Palin, 9 (60 percent) portrayed a negative image of the Alaska governor, and 6 (40 percent) were neutral. NBC was the second-most biased network with 15 negative stories (54 percent) and 13 (46 percent) neutral. CBS was the least biased with 14 (54 percent) negative stories, 2 (8 percent) positive and 10 (38 percent) neutral. The positive portrayals appeared in the two halves of CBS Early Show anchor Harry Smith’s two-part interview with Palin’s parents.
Not one of the evening network news shows ran a positive story about Palin.
The overwhelming preponderance of negative stories might have been justified if all the news about Palin had been bad, but the two major news events affecting Palin coverage during the study window tilted both ways. At the beginning of the study period on September 29, Palin was still enduring network news attacks that replayed, over and over again, the most problematic moments from her September 24 interview with CBS News anchor Katie Couric. Four days into the study window, however, Palin turned in a solid performance in the highly publicized October 2 debate with Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden.
CMI found that during the study period, the media crafted three principal narratives about Palin. 1) Palin is a dunce lacking the qualifications and intellect to be Vice President. 2) Conservatives are revolting over the dunce’s nomination. 3) Palin is a demon, little more than an attack dog victimizing Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
Narrative 1: Palin Is a Dunce, Lacking Qualifications and Intellect
Rarely have the news networks based so many “news” reports on a comedy show or an old interview from a rival network. Couric’s interview with Palin, however, and Saturday Night Live’s demeaning parodies by Tina Fey, proved to be irresistible clubs for beating up the GOP vice-presidential nominee. Most observers agree that Palin did not perform well in the Couric interview, but the network coverage dwelled on the worst moments, making Palin look as unprepared and inexperienced as possible. No fewer than 21 network news stories attacked Palin’s qualifications and intellect, and 8 of these featured ridicule from SNL. 14 stories replayed the most embarrassing clips from Palin’s CBS interview with Couric. ABC played 3 Couric clips, CBS aired 5, and NBC aired 6. (The CBS count does not include the original airing of the interview.)
[snip]
The networks failed to acknowledge adequately that Palin was doing more during her speeches than attacking Obama. She was also talking about issues, McCain’s plans for the nation, and her own qualifications. In a speech in Clearwater, Florida on October 6, Palin noted what she has done in office in Alaska:
As mayor and as a governor, I reminded people that government is not always the answer. In fact, government too often is the problem. So we got back to basics and we put government back on the side of the people. As mayor, I eliminated taxes on personal property and I eliminated taxes like small business inventory taxes. Those burdens on our small businesses, we got rid of them. Property taxes were too high. Every year that I was in office I reduced [taxes].
And as governor, I brought the same agenda of positive change on a state level. I came to office promising to control spending, by request if possible, but by veto if necessary. And today, our state budget is under control and we have a surplus. And I put the veto pen to nearly half a billion dollars in wasteful spending.
(Applause)
We suspended our state fuel tax and I’m returning a chunk of our surplus money right back to the people of Alaska. It’s their money and they can spend it better than government can spend it for them.
(Applause)
Imagine that. Imagine that, having that principle. And that’s what we’re going to bring on a national level also. That principle of knowing that – no, the people, our families, our businesses they know best so let them keep more of what they earn and produce and not have this government take trying to quote, “solve” all the problems for our families and our businesses. No, we’re not going to do that.
Conclusion
ABC, NBC and CBS are distorting the public perception of Sarah Palin by incessantly assassinating her character, even citing people they usually ignore, conservative columnists, because they have criticized Palin. The networks have actually stooped to mocking Palin by repeatedly rebroadcasting parodies from Saturday Night Live, as if frivolous entertainment belongs in the evening news. Rich Noyes, the MRC’s research director, found in his study, Obama’s Margin of Victory: The Media, that “the Big Three broadcast networks have showered Obama with positive – even glowing – news coverage, protected the candidate from the attacks of his rivals, and shown little interest in investigating Obama’s past associations or exploring the controversies that could have threatened his campaign.”
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Link: http://www.cultureandmedia.com/specialreports/2008 /SarahPalinChar/SaraPalinFull_Report.htm