United States--2012 FDA Presidential Election Media Study

FDA Media Study of the 2012 American
Presidential Election

Executive Summary

The FDA measured significant bias in total campaign news coverage for Barack Obama
over Mitt Romney, 54 percent to 44.75 percent and almost non-existent campaign
coverage of third-party presidential candidates. As examples, only one day in the last 32
days of the American presidential election did Romney have more news coverage than
Obama, and Obama had overall more positive news coverage and less negative news
coverage than Romney. The FDA‟s total measurements correlate exactly in ranking to
the U.S. popular vote results, and very similar in terms of percentages of candidates‟
coverage and percentages of candidates‟ popular votes with an average deviation of
1.07 percent. The FDA Media Study pertains to the last 32 days of the 2012 American
Presidential Election. The FDA data collectors tracked media biases in the U.S. national
newspaper, radio, and television sectors including online content, and collected 7,924
data points. The FDA data is based on 47.66 percent of the national newspaper market,
21.91 percent of the radio news/talk/information market, and 97.72 percent of the
National News Networks, Cable News, and Public News market. Overall, the FDA
media study presents significant evidence that the U.S. national media limited electoral
discourse and influenced the 2012 U.S. presidential election outcome, rather than fully
inform the American electorate about their electoral choices. Based on the 2012 FDA
Electoral Fairness Audit Report on the U.S. and the media study measurements, the
FDA recommends that the American national media be regulated through legislated
Code of Conduct during the 60 and 30 day federal electioneering periods, in order to
support broad and balanced electoral discourse, and a fully informed electorate.
Presently, the American federal electoral system allows U.S. national media
companies/programs/shows to have an unregulated and imbalanced influence on
electoral discourse, and ultimately undue influence on federal election outcomes,
thereby undermining American democracy.

Media Study Completed December 17, 2012

Prepared By

Mr. Stephen Garvey, Executive Director Foundation for Democratic Advancement,
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, University of British Columbia and Master of
Philosophy in Environment and Development, University of Cambridge.

Purpose of the Media Study

The purpose of the Foundation for Democratic Advancement (FDA)‟s media study (the Study) is
to determine the percentage of election coverage by major media for the five American
presidential candidates. This Study is an extension of the FDA‟s 2012 electoral fairness audit of
the American federal electoral system, in which America received a failing score of 42.5 percent
for legislation pertaining to media political content.

The goal of the FDA's media study is to give Americans and other stakeholders objective data on
election coverage by major media outlets and of the presidential candidates during the last 32
days of the 2012 American Presidential Election. Members of the American House of Congress
and Senate may want to use the report‟s measurements, findings, and recommendations as a
basis for regulating private and public media during the 60 day federal campaign period. The
American electorate may want to use the report‟s measurements and findings to help determine
their media information sources in future elections.

The views in this media study are the views of the FDA only. The FDA members are in no way
affiliated with Federal Election Commission or any of America's registered/non-registered
political parties, or any of the American media corporations. The Study is an independent
assessment based on objectivity, transparency and non-partisanship. The FDA assumes no
responsibility or liability for any errors in its data collection or inaccuracies in its research of
relevant corporate and government documents.

About the Foundation for Democratic Advancement

The Foundation for Democratic Advancement (FDA) is an international independent, non-
partisan democracy organization. The FDA‟s mission is

to measure, study, and communicate the impact of government processes on a free and
democratic society.

Overall, the FDA works
1. to ensure that people become more knowledgeable about the outcomes of
government processes and can then make decisions that are more informed;
2. to get people involved in monitoring government processes at all levels of
government and in providing sound, practical, and effective suggestions. (For more
information on the FDA visit: www.democracychange.org)

Foundation for Democratic Advancement | 2012 U.S. Media Election Study Page 2

To ensure its objectivity and independence, the FDA does not conduct privately paid research.
However, if you or your organization has an important research idea or are aware of an important
issue on government processes, the FDA is available to listen to your idea or issue and possibly
help raise public awareness by initiating and leading change through report research and
analysis. Please contact the FDA at (403) 669-8132 or email us at info@democracychange.org
for more information.

An online version of this report can be found at: www.democracychange.org
For further information and/or comments on this report please contact Mr. Stephen Garvey at
stephen.garvey@democracychange.org


Table of Contents
Introduction 5

Chapter 1: Media Study of the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election 7
American Media Corporations in Study 8
Corporate Ownership of American Media 9
American National Newspapers 9
American National Radio 15
American National Television 22

U.S. National Press Results 28
Analysis 32

U.S. National Radio Results 33
Analysis 37

U.S. National Television Results 38
Analysis 42

Chapter 2: Total America Media Study Results 43
Analysis 47

Chapter 3: Analysis 50

Chapter 4: Conclusion 56

Chapter 5: Recommendations 57

References 60

Research Methodology 63

Appendix: 2012 FDA Global Electoral Fairness Audit Report
of the United States Federal Electoral System 67

FDA Media Study Team & Associates 74


Introduction
The FDA's study on the American national media during the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election is
based findings on non-partisanship and objectivity.

The media study involved three main components:

1. Identify major American national media companies/programs/shows in the press, radio,
and television, and their corporate ownership.

2. Collect data on the selected American national media from October 6, 2012 to November
6, 2012.

3. Compile and analyze data.

Using media circulation and ownership data for America, the FDA identified the major media
corporations in the press, radio, and television and chose major media
companies/programs/shows in each sector for the Study. This approach allowed the FDA to
focus on companies/programs/shows with a large market share, rather than concentrate on every
American media company/program/show.

The FDA data collection team is comprised of twelve FDA members and each individual
focused on a particular media company/program/show whether a newspaper, radio program, and
television news broadcast. The collection team used spreadsheets to capture specific election
content on the biases on each relevant story.

Members entered media data into a master spreadsheet to determine percentages. The FDA
analyzed the results in relation and comparison to the 2012 FDA Electoral Fairness Audit Report
on the U.S. Federal Electoral System and the 2012 American presidential popular vote results.

The report is limited in that it does not include every American company/program/show.
However, by covering the major media outlets in each sector, the FDA is able to show evidence
of the percentage of media coverage during the last thirty-two days of the American Presidential
Election. The report is also limited in its focus on the last thirty-two days of the campaign period
as opposed to the entire sixty-day campaign period for electioneering communication
(unofficially known as from the U.S. labor Day to the first Tuesday in November) (U.S. Code,
Title 5, Section 4508 and Code of Federal Regulations, Article 100.29). The FDA has no data on
the first 28 days of this election period. There may or may not be a correlation in media coverage
between the two pars of the campaign period. The FDA believes that although the 2012
American election was characterized by a two candidate race this in of itself does not justify the
almost 10 percent bias in total coverage for Obama over Romney, or the almost non-existent
coverage of third-party presidential candidates.

The FDA acknowledges that due to the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and various U.S.
Supreme Court decisions on the importance and protection of free political speech, most recently


the Citizens United ruling, American public and private media has no legal requirement to
provide the electorate with broad, balanced, and complete election coverage and that the onus is
not solely on the media to inform the public. The electorate should also make efforts to gather
information and form conclusions on its own volition, and even set up their own media
companies and new sources if they are not satisfied with the news of the current media. Yet, the
FDA believes that during an election period, legislation should mandate broad, balanced, and
complete campaign coverage by the media in order for citizens to have a reasonable opportunity
to make informed decisions on Election Day. The onus should not be fully on citizens to become
media persons or form media companies to generate alternate media content. Democracy and
elections are not solely about freedom; fairness and equality are integral parts as well. Freedom
left unregulated like in the financial markets will likely lead to self-interested actions which are
detrimental to the public good. Similarly, an unregulated media will lead to similar outcomes as
this report shows. In democracy and elections a balance must be struck between freedom and the
public good. As articulated in the Research Methodology for the 2012 FDA Audit Report on the
United States: “Excessive political freedom would likely lead to a plutocracy, and excessive
political equality would likely lead to communism” (Foundation for Democratic Advancement,
2012).

(For more discussion on the democratic grounds for broad, balanced, and complete campaign
coverage, see the Conclusion and Recommendations on pages 57 and 60.)


Chapter One: American National Media Election Content
Chapter One will focus on the U.S. media ownership concentration and the FDA's data
collection results for the thirty-two days of the 2012 American Presidential Election

Chapter Summary: The FDA media study focuses on twelve major corporations from
American national newspaper, radio, and television sectors. In the newspaper sector, the FDA
focuses specifically on the Chicago Tribune, LA Times, New York Times, San Jose Mercury
News, USA Today , Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; in the radio sector, the FDA
focuses on the Don Imus Show, Laura Ingram Show, NPR‟s Morning Edition (Public News)
NPR‟s Evening News (Public News), and the Rush Limbaugh Show; and in the television sector,
the FDA focuses on ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC News, NBC News, and
PBS (The News Hour). The data collection results show overwhelming bias in coverage to
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney over third-party presidential candidates, and overall bias to
Obama over Romney 54 percent total coverage to 44.75 percent, and more stories with positive
bias for Obama and more stories with negative bias for Romney (based percentage breakdown of
biased stories). In addition, the FDA researchers identified ownership concentration issues in the
national television sector, in which for example ABC News, CBS News, and NBC News have
82.22 percent of the National News Networks, Cable News, and Public News market in terms of
prime time audience. In the radio sector, Bain Capitol/Thomas H. Lee Partners have control
and/or access to 41.08 percent of the 14,278 full powered U.S. radio stations. In the newspaper
sector, the top ten U.S. newspapers have 66.84% of the U.S. newspaper market (for the top 100
U.S. newspapers) in terms of circulation.

Introduction: The Chapter is divided into three sections: American national media corporations
in study, corporate ownership concentrations, and data collection results for American national
newspaper, radio, and television sectors. The FDA's data collection for newspaper and television
sectors includes online data. For information on research and data collection methodologies see
the Research Methodology chapter on page 63.


American National Media in Study

National Press (plus their online content)

Chicago Tribune
LA Times
New York Times
San Jose Mercury News
USA Today
Wall Street Journal
Washington Post

National Radio

Don Imus Show
Laura Ingram Show
NPR‟s Morning Edition (Public News)
Rush Limbaugh Show

National Television (plus their online content)

ABC News
CBS News
CNN
Fox News
MSNBC News
NBC News
PBS News Hour


Corporate Media Ownership of Newspaper Companies

American National Press in Media Study

The Tribune Company owns the Chicago Tribune
The Tribune Company owns the LA Times
The New York Times Company owns the New York Times
The Media News Group owns the San Jose Mercury
The Gannett Company owns the USA Today
The News Corporation owns the New Wall Street Journal
The Washington Post owns the Washington Post

Newspaper Ownership of Newspaper Companies

Gannett Company

Newspaper companies in top 100 in terms of circulation:

USA Today
The Arizona Republic
Detroit Free Press
The Indianapolis Star
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Courier-Journal
The Tennessean
Democrat and Chronicle
The Des Moines Register
Asbury Park Press
The News Journal

Total daily and Sunday circulation: 6,258,549 (Audit Bureau of Circulations, 2012. Via
Wikipedia, List of Newspapers in the United States by Circulation, 2012)

News Corporation

Newspaper companies in top 100:

The Wall Street Journal
New York Post



Media News Group


San Jose Mercury News
The Denver Post
St. Paul Pioneer Press
The Detroit News
The Salt Lake Tribune
Los Angeles Daily News
Press-Telegram


The New York Times Company


The New York Times
The Boston Globe
Telegram & Gazette


The Washington Post

The Washington Post


Tribune Company


Los Angeles Times
Chicago Tribune
Baltimore Sun
Orlando Sentinel


South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The Hartford Courant
The Morning Call


Total of daily and Sunday circulation of media companies in study: 25,107,983 (Audit Bureau of
Circulations, 2012. Via Wikipedia, List of Newspapers in the United States by Circulation, 2012)

Total of daily and Sunday circulation of media companies (in top 100) not in study: 27,574,439
(Audit Bureau of Circulations, 2012. Via Wikipedia, List of Newspapers in the United States by
Circulation, 2012)

Total ownership concentration of media companies in study as compared to newspaper
companies in top 100:

47.66%

The largest media ownership concentration is the Gannett Company at 6,258,549 daily and
Sunday circulation:

11.88% of newspaper market

The next largest media ownership concentration is the News Corporation at 5,186,598 daily and
Sunday circulation:

9.85% of newspaper market

There are 44 newspaper companies in the top of 100 newspapers according to daily and Sunday
circulation numbers.

The top 10 newspaper companies in terms of circulation numbers own 66.84% of the market.
The 34 other newspaper companies own 33.16% of the market.


The pie chart captures the percentage of newspaper circulation covered by the FDA‟s media
study. The FDA determined newspaper circulation from the one hundred American newspapers
with the highest circulation (Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012).


The pie chart captures the percentage of the U.S. newspaper market share by circulation for the
top 44 newspaper companies (Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012).

U.S. Newspaper Ownership Group Quartiles Share of Circulation
First Quartile (top 11 companies) 69.17%
Second Quartile (companies ranked 12 to 22) 17.28%
Third Quartile (companies ranked 23 to 33) 9.22%
Fourth Quartile (companies ranked 34 to 44) 4.33%
Total 100.00%


The chart captures the cumulative percentage of FDA data points in relation to circulation of the
top 44 U.S. newspaper corporations (including the top 100 U.S. newspapers in terms of
circulation). The blue line represents what the cumulative distribution would look like if those 44
newspaper ownership groups each held an equal share of the market. The red line shows the
actual lopsided ownership pattern and the resulting skew in the share of market. The vertical axis
represents the cumulative percentage of the newspaper market in terms of audience. (Foundation
for Democratic Advancement, 2012).


Total daily and Sunday circulation

U.S. National Newspapers in Study Daily and Sunday Circulation Numbers
Chicago Tribune 1,194,030
LA Times 1,554,132
New York Times 3,590,004
San Jose Mercury News 1,266,044
USA Today 1,817,446
Wall Street Journal 4,196, 879
Washington Post 1,226,916
Total Daily and Sunday Circulation 10,648,572
Total Daily and Sunday Circulation for Top 20 24,255,353
Newspapers
Percentage of Circulation of Newspapers in Study 43.90%
in Terms of the Top 20 Newspapers
Total Daily and Sunday Circulation for Top 100 52,682,422
Newspapers
Percentage of Circulation of Newspapers in Study 20.21%
within Top 100 Newspapers

Circulation numbers based on the first 6 month period of 2012 ended March 31, 2012.

(Audit Bureau of Circulations, 2012. Via Wikipedia, List of Newspapers in the United States by
Circulation, 2012)


American National Radio in Study

Don Imus Show
Laura Ingram Show
NPR‟s Morning Edition (Public News)
Rush Limbaugh Show

Ownership of American National Radio in Study

1. Bain Capitol/Thomas H. Lee Partners (Clear Channel) owns the Rush Limbaugh Show

Other Bain Capital/Thomas H. Lee Partners‟ media ownership:

Radio: 866 radio stations and Premiere Radio Networks (a national radio network that produces,
distributes or represents approximately 90 syndicated radio programs, serves nearly 5,800 radio
station affiliates and has over 213 million weekly listeners. Programs include the Rush Limbaugh
Show, Glenn Beck and the Sean Hannity Show); Fox Sports Radio; Fox News Radio; Australian
Radio Network

Other: Katz Media (radio advertising broker); American Outdoor Advertising (freepress.net,
2012)

2. NPR non-profit corporation privately and publicly funded and acts a national syndicator to a
network of 900 U.S. public radio stations (Wikipedia, NPR, 2012).

3. Fox News Network owns Imus in the Morning; Fox News Network is owned by the News
Corporation (freepress.net, 2012).

4. Laura Ingraham show owned by MediaBlue Nox, c/o Metrologo LLC (The Ingraham show
had been distributed by the Talk Radio Network.) On businessprofiles.com MediaBlue Nox is
listed as “dissolved.” It is unclear the viewership of the Laura Ingraham show. Although Talk
Radio Network says on its website it is second largest national provider of talk radio shows and
it lists 40 radio stations (trncorporate.com, 2012; tunein.com, Talk Radio Network Radio
Stations, 2012; Lauraingraham.com, Terms and Conditions, 2012).

Number of Radio Stations in America

14,278 full power radio stations: 4,778 AM, 6533 FM, and 3,417 educational FM. There are
859 lower power FM stations. Lower power FM stations are only accessible by noncommercial
educational entities and public safety and transportation organizations, (Benton Foundation.
(2012) via the Federal Communications Commission, March 2011; Federal Communications
Commission, Low Power FM Broadcast Radio Stations, 2012).


There are 70 plus radio networks in the United States. (Wikipedia, Radio in the United States,
and List of United States Radio Networks, 2012). Media corporations operate a number of these
networks such as:

Dial Global, a subsidiary of Triton Media Group, operates the following
networks:
Source Max Radio Network
CBS Radio Network
NBC Radio Network
NBC Sports Radio
NeXt Radio Network
WONE Radio Network
Waitt Radio Networks (Dial Global Local)
Dial Global Total (amalgamation of Transtar Radio Networks and Jones Radio
Networks)
Westwood One (Wikipedia, List of United States Radio Networks, 2012).

Disney operates the following radio networks:
ABC News Radio (Provides news programming to Cumulus Media Networks)
ESPN Radio
Radio Disney (Wikipedia, List of United States Radio Networks, 2012).

Radio Ownership Concentration Issue

Bain Capitol /Thomas H. Lee Partners (Clear Channel) has an estimated 5000 station affiliates
through the Premier Radio Network and owns 866 radio stations (freepress.net, 2012). The FDA
researchers assume that Bain Capitol/Thomas H. Lee Partners have access to: 5866 radio
stations. (5000 station affiliates plus 866 radio stations)

There are 14,278 full powered American radio stations (Benton Foundation, 2012 via the Federal
Communications Commission, March 2011).

Bain Capitol/Thomas H. Lee Partners have access to 41.08 percent of American radio stations.

Talk Radio Audiences

1. Rush Limbaugh Show

According to TALKERS magazine (spring of 2012), the top talk radio audiences totaled
approximately:

141, 250, 000, 000 (comprised of the top 38 radio talk shows)


The Rush Limbaugh Show, with an estimated audience of 14,750,000 (TALKERS magazine,
2012), has 10.44 percent of the talk radio market (top 38 talk shows).

Bain Capitol/Thomas H. Lee Partners through the Premier Radio Network own Rush Limbaugh
Show, Sean Hannity Show, and Glenn Beck Show. These shows have an estimated audience of
37 million (TALKERS magazine, 2012), or 26.19% of the audience for the top 38 American talk
radio shows.

2. NPR‟s Morning Edition:

NPR‟s Morning Edition audience is estimated at 14 million (per week) (Ledbetter, 2011).

3. Imus in the Morning audience is estimated at 2.75 million (TALKERS magazine, 2012).

4. Laura Ingraham show audience is estimated at 5.75 million (TALKERS magazine, 2012).

Total American radio audience

The American news/talk/information radio audience is estimated at around 170 million
(Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012 via data from the Pew Research Center, State of
the Media, 2012).

In this study, the FDA tracked four radio news programs with an estimated audience of:

37.25 million

The FDA tracked radio shows capture 21.91 percent of the American news/talk/information
market.


The pie chart captures Bain Capitol/Thomas H. Lee Partners‟ percentage of control and access to
American radio stations. Bain Capitol/Thomas H. Lee Partners have an estimated 5000 station
affiliates through the Premier Radio Network and own 866 radio stations. There are 14,278 full
powered radio stations in the United States (Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012).


The pie chart captures Bain Capitol/Thomas H. Lee Partners‟ market share of the American talk
radio market. The FDA determines market share based on the size of talk radio audiences, and
the FDA limited the radio talk show market to the most popular 38 American radio talk shows
(Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012).


The pie chart captures the percentage of the total national radio news market covered by FDA
data collectors. The percentages are based on radio audience numbers for the
news/talk/information radio sector (Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012).


American National Television in Study

ABC News
CBS News
CNN
Fox News
MSNBC News
NBC News
PBS (The News Hour)

National Television Network News

ABC News
CBS News
NBC News

National Television Cable News:

CNN
MSNBC News
Fox News
PBS (The News Hour)

Other National Television Cable News:

CNBC
HLN

Corporate Media Ownership of the American National News Networks, Cable News, and
Public News

1. Comcast Corporation owns NBC, MSNBC, and CNBC.

Comcast Corporation media ownership:

TV: NBCUniversal; twenty-four television stations and the NBC television network; Telemundo;
USA Network; SyFy; CNBC; MSNBC; Bravo; Oxygen; Chiller; CNBC World; E!; the Golf
Channel; Sleuth; mun2; Universal HD; VERSUS; Style; G4; Comcast SportsNet (Philadelphia),
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington, D.C.), Cable Sports Southeast,
Comcast SportsNet Chicago, MountainWest Sports Network, Comcast SportsNet California
(Sacramento), Comcast SportsNet New England (Boston), Comcast SportsNet Northwest
(Portland, Ore.), Comcast Sports Southwest (Houston), Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (San
Francisco), New England Cable News (Boston), Comcast Network Philadelphia, Comcast


Network Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington, D.C.); the Weather Channel (25 percent stake);
A&E (16 percent stake); the History Channel (16 percent stake); the Biography Channel (16
percent stake); Lifetime (16 percent stake); the Crime and Investigation Channel (16 percent
stake); Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (30 percent stake); FEARnet (31 percent stake); PBS
KIDS Sprout (40 percent stake); TV One (34 percent stake); Houston Regional Sports Network
(23 percent stake); SportsNet New York (8 percent stake)

Online Holdings: MSNBC.com [full owner recently]; Hulu (32 percent stake); DailyCandy;
iVillage; Fandango (freepress.net, 2012).

2. CBS Corporation owns CBS News.

CBS Corporation media ownership:

TV: Twenty-nine television stations and CBS Television Studios; CBS Entertainment; CBS
News; CBS Sports; CBS television stations; CBS Television Studios; CBS Studios International;
CBS Television Distribution; the CW; Showtime; CBS College Sports Network; CBS Television
Network; Smithsonian Networks

Radio: CBS Radio and 130 radio stations (freepress.net, 2012).

3. News Corporation owns Fox News.

News Corporation media ownership:

TV: Twenty-seven television stations and FOX Broadcasting Company (FOX Network,
MyNetworkTV); FOX News; FOX Business; FOX News Radio Network; FOX News Talk
Channel; FSN (12 regional sports networks); FX; SPEED; FUEL TV; Fox College Sports; Fox
Movie Channel; Fox Soccer Channel; Fox Soccer Plus; Fox Pan American Sports; Fox Deportes;
Big Ten Network; National Geographic U.S.; Nat Geo Adventure; Nat Geo Music; Nat Geo
Wild; Fox International Channels; Utilisima; Fox Crime; NEXT; FOX History & Entertainment;
the Voyage Channel; STAR World; STAR Movies; NGC Network International; NGC Network
Latin America; LAPTV; Movie City; City Mix; City Family; City Stars; City Vibe; the Film
Zone; Cinecanal; Elite Sports Limited; BabyTV; STAR India; STAR Taiwan; ESPN STAR
Sports; Shine Limited

Online Holdings: Hulu.com (32 percent minority share) (freepress.net, 2012).

4. Walt Disney Company owns ABC News.

Walt Disney Company media ownership:

TV: Eight television stations and the ABC television network; ESPN; Disney Channels
Worldwide; ABC Family; SOAPnet Networks; A&E (42 percent stake); Lifetime Television (42
percent stake); the History Channel (42 percent stake); Lifetime Movie Network (42 percent


stake); the Biography Channel (42 percent stake); History International [renamed H2] (42
percent stake); Lifetime Real Women (42 percent stake); Live Well Network (42 percent stake)

Radio: ESPN Radio Network; Radio Disney (freepress.net, 2012).

5. Time Warner Company owns CNN and HLN (Wikipedia, CNN and HLN, 2012).

6. PBS is owned by 354 U.S. TV stations which have collective ownership (Wikipedia, PBS,
2012).
There are 1,774 full power television stations in the United States (Benton Foundation. (2012)
via the Federal Communications Commission, March 2011).

Viewership of the American National News Networks, Cable News, and Public News

8.75 million (daily audience 2010/2011) NBC Nightly News

8.75 million (daily audience 2010/2011) ABC World News

5.97 million (daily audience 2010/2011) CBS Evening News

1.1 million (daily audience (2010/2011) PBS News Hour

1.9 million (daily mean prime time audience 2011) Fox News

773,000 (daily mean prime time audience 2011) MSNBC

654,500 (daily mean prime time audience 2011) CNN

385,500 (daily mean prime time audience 2011) HLN (Foundation for Democratic, 2012 via data
from the Pew Research Center, State of the Media, 2012).

291, 000 (daily audience during business day first quarter 2012) CNBC (Talking Biz News,
2011).

Total Daily Viewers of National News Networks, Cable News, and Public News:

28.547 million

The FDA data collection covers 27.8975 million (97.72%) of the National News Networks,
Cable News, and Public News market in terms media corporations in the study.

Media Ownership Concentration Issues

NBC Nightly News and ABC World News have 61.03 percent of the National News Networks,
Cable News, and Public News market in terms of prime time audience.


NBC Nightly News and ABC World News each have 30.52 percent of the National News
Networks, Cable News, and Public News market in terms of prime time audience.

NBC Nightly News, ABC World News, and CBS Evening News have 82.22 percent of the
National News Networks, Cable News, and Public News market in terms of prime time
audience.

The pie chart captures the percentage of prime time news market share ABC, NBC, and CBS has
compared to all other U.S. national news networks, cable news, and public news networks in
terms of prime time audience (Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012).

Cross Ownership Between Three Major Media Sectors

CBS Corporation

TV: Twenty-nine television stations and CBS Television Studios; CBS Entertainment; CBS
News; CBS Sports; CBS television stations; CBS Television Studios; CBS Studios International;
CBS Television Distribution; the CW; Showtime; CBS College Sports Network; CBS Television
Network; Smithsonian Networks

Radio: CBS Radio and 130 radio stations


Online Holdings: CBS Interactive; CNET

Print: Simon & Schuster; Watch! Magazine; Pocket Books; Scribner; Free Press (publishing
house) (freepress.net, 2012).

Comcast Corporation

TV: NBCUniversal; twenty-four television stations and the NBC television network; Telemundo;
USA Network; SyFy; CNBC; MSNBC; Bravo; Oxygen; Chiller; CNBC World; E!; the Golf
Channel; Sleuth; mun2; Universal HD; VERSUS; Style; G4; Comcast SportsNet (Philadelphia),
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington, D.C.), Cable Sports Southeast,
Comcast SportsNet Chicago, MountainWest Sports Network, Comcast SportsNet California
(Sacramento), Comcast SportsNet New England (Boston), Comcast SportsNet Northwest
(Portland, Ore.), Comcast Sports Southwest (Houston), Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (San
Francisco), New England Cable News (Boston), Comcast Network Philadelphia, Comcast
Network Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington, D.C.); the Weather Channel (25 percent stake);
A&E (16 percent stake); the History Channel (16 percent stake); the Biography Channel (16
percent stake); Lifetime (16 percent stake); the Crime and Investigation Channel (16 percent
stake); Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (30 percent stake); FEARnet (31 percent stake); PBS
KIDS Sprout (40 percent stake); TV One (34 percent stake); Houston Regional Sports Network
(23 percent stake); SportsNet New York (8 percent stake)

Online Holdings: MSNBC.com (50 percent stake); Hulu (32 percent stake); DailyCandy;
iVillage; Fandango

Telecom: Clearwire Communications (9 percent stake) (freepress.net, 2012).

News Corporation

TV: Twenty-seven television stations and FOX Broadcasting Company (FOX Network,
MyNetworkTV); FOX News; FOX Business; FOX News Radio Network; FOX News Talk
Channel; FSN (12 regional sports networks); FX; SPEED; FUEL TV; Fox College Sports; Fox
Movie Channel; Fox Soccer Channel; Fox Soccer Plus; Fox Pan American Sports; Fox Deportes;
Big Ten Network; National Geographic U.S.; Nat Geo Adventure; Nat Geo Music; Nat Geo
Wild; Fox International Channels; Utilisima; Fox Crime; NEXT; FOX History & Entertainment;
the Voyage Channel; STAR World; STAR Movies; NGC Network International; NGC Network
Latin America; LAPTV; Movie City; City Mix; City Family; City Stars; City Vibe; the Film
Zone; Cinecanal; Elite Sports Limited; BabyTV; STAR India; STAR Taiwan; ESPN STAR
Sports; Shine Limited

Online Holdings: Hulu.com (32 percent minority share)

Print: HarperCollins Publishers; the New York Post; the Daily News; News International (the
Times; the Sunday Times; the Sun); News Limited (146 newspapers in Australia); Dow Jones
(Wall Street Journal, Barron's, SmartMoney, Factiva, Dow Jones Newswires, Dow Jones Local
Media, Dow Jones VentureSource) (freepress.net, 2012).


Gannett Corporation

TV: Twenty-three television stations

Online Holdings: CareerBuilder.com; MomsLikeMe.com; ShopLocal.com; Cars.com;
Apartments.com; CareerSite.biz; Livestream.com; Metromix.com; Ongo, Inc.; Reviewed.com;
SavvyShopperDeals.com; Homefinder.com; BNOT.com; Nurse.com

Print: USA Today; over 600 magazines and other non-daily print publications; Clipper Magazine;
Mint Magazine; Gannett Government Media; Gannett Education; Newsquest (U.K.)
(freepress.net, 2012).

Tribune Company

TV: Twenty-three television stations and the Food Network (30 percent stake); WGN America;
CLTV (Chicagoland‟s Television); Tribune Entertainment

Radio: One radio station

Online Holdings: Zap2it.com; TribuneDirect.com; MetroMix.com (minority stake);
CareerBuilder.com (minority stake); Apartments.com (minority stake); Cars.com (minority
stake); ForSaleByOwner.com; HomeFinder.com (minority stake); Healthkey.com; Topix.net
(minority stake)

Print: Twelve daily newspapers (including the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the
Baltimore Sun and the Hartford Courant); Chicago Magazine

Other: Tribune Media Services; Classified Ventures (minority stake) (freepress.net, 2012).

Washington Post Company

TV: Six television stations

Print: The Washington Post; the Herald; the Washington Post News Service; Post-Newsweek
Media; Greater Washington Publishing; the Slate Group (Slate, the Root, Foreign Policy); El
Tiempo Latino; Express Publications (Express, ExpressNightOut.com); Social Code; Classified
Ventures (17 percent stake)

Telecommunications: Cable ONE, Inc.

Other: Kaplan (Kaplan Higher Education, Kaplan University, Kaplan Test Preparation, Kaplan
International, Kaplan Ventures, Kaplan EduNeering, Kaplan Learning Technologies, the Kidum
Group, Kaplan Continuing Education, Kaplan Global Solutions, Colloquy, Kaplan Virtual
Education and Kaplan VC LLC); Avenue 100 Media Solutions, Inc.; Bowater Mersey Paper
Company (49 percent stake) (freepress.net, 2012).


Media Study Data Collection Results

American National Press

Overall data collection totals for newspaper news coverage and biases (positive, neutral,
negative). Each data point in the table below represents a recorded bias from a particular
news story/information over the last 32 days of the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election:

Republican Party (Mitt Romney) TOTAL 1865 44.83%
POSITIVE 403 21.61%

NEUTRAL 943 50.56%

NEGATIVE 519 27.83%
Democratic Party (Barack
Obama) TOTAL 2226 53.51%
POSITIVE 716 32.17%

NEUTRAL 1175 52.79%

NEGATIVE 335 15.05%

Libertarian Party (Gary Johnson) TOTAL 35 0.84%
POSITIVE 9 25.71%

NEUTRAL 20 57.14%

NEGATIVE 6 17.14%

Green Party (Jill Stein) TOTAL 14 0.34%
POSITIVE 7 50.00%

NEUTRAL 6 42.86%

NEGATIVE 1 7.14%

Constitution Party (Virgil Goode) TOTAL 14 0.34%
POSITIVE 5 35.71%

NEUTRAL 8 57.14%

NEGATIVE 1 7.14%

All Other Parties/Candidates TOTAL 6 0.14%
POSITIVE 5 83.33%

NEUTRAL 1 16.67%
NEGATIVE 0 0.00%

TOTAL
BIASES 4160 100%


The pie chart captures the percentage breakdown of the total national press coverage in terms of
stories with positive, neutral, and negative bias. The breakdown is based on the FDA‟s
newspaper data collection in the last 32 days of the U.S. presidential election, in which 4,160
data points were collected (Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012).


Ranking of American national press total coverage

Presidential Candidates Total Press Coverage
1. Barack Obama 53.51%
2. Mitt Romney 44.83%
3. Gary Johnson 0.89%
4. Jill Stein 0.35%
5. Virgil Goode 0.35%
6. All Other Candidates/Parties 0.15%

Ranking of American national press total positive biased coverage

Presidential Candidates Total Positive Coverage
3. Gary Johnson 0.89% (total coverage)
4. Jill Stein 0.35% (total coverage)
5. Virgil Goode 0.35% (total coverage)
6. All Other Candidates/Parties 0.15% (total coverage)

Ranking of American national press total neutral biased coverage

Presidential Candidates Total Neutral Coverage

Ranking of American national press total negative biased coverage

Presidential Candidates Total Negative Coverage


The pie chart captures the total national press coverage (including online content) of the 2012
U.S. presidential candidates from the FDA‟s 4,160 data points on the press (Foundation for
Democratic Advancement, 2012).


Analysis of American National Newspaper Findings

Barack Obama had a clear advantage over Mitt Romney in the U.S. national press coverage of
the 2012 presidential election. In the last 32 days of the election and based on the FDA‟s data
collection, Obama had 8.68 percent more total press coverage than Romney. More specifically,
Obama had 10.56 percent more stories with positive bias than Romney, and Romney had 12.78
percent more stories with negative bias than Obama.

U.S. national press coverage of third-party presidential candidates was almost non-existent. In
the last 32 days of the election and based on the FDA‟s data collection, third-party candidates
had 1.66 percent of the total press coverage, while Obama and Romney had 98.34 percent of the
press coverage.

More than double of the total U.S. national press stories were of neutral bias:

51.46 percent neutral bias

48.24 percent either positive or negative bias.

The U.S. national press had 6.8 percent more stories with positive bias than stories with negative
bias: 27.52 percent to 20.72 percent.


American National Radio

Overall data collection totals for radio news coverage and biases (positive, neutral,

POSITIVE 291 46.56%

NEUTRAL 195 31.20%

NEGATIVE 139 22.24%
POSITIVE 91 10.31%

NEUTRAL 247 27.97%

NEGATIVE 545 61.72%

POSITIVE 1 20.00%

NEUTRAL 2 40.00%

NEGATIVE 2 40.00%

POSITIVE 0 0.00%

NEUTRAL 1 100.00%

NEGATIVE 0 0.00%

POSITIVE 0 0.00%

NEUTRAL 0 0.00%

NEGATIVE 0 0.00%

POSITIVE 0 0.00%

NEUTRAL 0 0.00%
NEGATIVE 0 0.00%

TOTAL
BIASES 1514 100%


The pie chart captures the percentage breakdown of the total national radio coverage in terms of
stories with positive, neutral, and negative bias. The breakdown is based on the FDA‟s radio data
collection in the last 32 days of the U.S. presidential election, in which 1,514 data points were
collected (Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012).


Ranking of American national radio total coverage

Presidential Candidates Total Radio Coverage
4. Jill Stein 0.07%

Ranking of American national radio total positive biased coverage

4. Jill Stein 0.0%

Ranking of American national radio total neutral biased coverage

4. Jill Stein 0.07%

Ranking of American national radio total negative biased coverage

4. Jill Stein 0.0%


The pie chart captures the total national radio coverage of the 2012 U.S. presidential candidates
from the FDA‟s 1,514 data points on the radio (Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012).


Analysis of American National Radio Findings

Barack Obama had a clear advantage over Mitt Romney in the U.S. national radio coverage of
the 2012 election. In the last 32 days of the election and based on the FDA‟s data collection,
Obama had 17.04 percent more radio coverage than Romney.

However, Obama had 39.48 percent more negative radio coverage than Romney. In addition,
Romney had 36.25 percent more positive radio coverage than Obama.

Romney and Obama had a similar percentage of neutral radio coverage, 31.20 percent for
Romney to 27.97 percent for Obama.

U.S. national radio coverage of third-party presidential candidates was almost non-existent. In
had 0.4 percent of the total radio coverage, while Obama and Romney had 99.6 percent of the
radio coverage.

The U.S. national radio had 20.01 percent more content with negative bias than content with
positive bias: 45.31 percent to 25.30 percent. Also, the U.S. national press had 15.92 percent
more content with negative bias than content with neutral bias: 45.31 percent to 29.39 percent.

Bias Breakdown of National Radio:

Negative: 45.31%

Positive: 25.30%

Neutral: 29.39%


American National Television

Overall data collection totals for television news coverage and biases (positive, neutral,

POSITIVE 181 17.16%

NEUTRAL 572 54.22%

NEGATIVE 302 28.63%
POSITIVE 357 30.57%

NEUTRAL 598 51.20%

NEGATIVE 213 18.24%

POSITIVE 1 12.50%

NEUTRAL 7 87.50%

NEGATIVE 0 0.00%

POSITIVE 0 0.00%

NEUTRAL 7 87.50%

NEGATIVE 1 12.50%

POSITIVE 0 0.00%

NEUTRAL 7 100.00%

NEGATIVE 0 0.00%

POSITIVE 0 0.00%

NEUTRAL 1 100.00%
NEGATIVE 0 0.00%

TOTAL
BIASES 2247 100%


The pie chart captures the percentage breakdown of the total national television coverage in
terms of stories with positive, neutral, and negative bias. The breakdown is based on the FDA‟s
newspaper data collection in the last 32 days of the U.S. presidential election, in which 2,247
data points were collected (Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012).


Ranking of American national television total coverage

Presidential Candidates Total Television Coverage
4. Jill Stein 0.36%

Ranking of American national television total positive biased coverage

4. Jill Stein 0.0%

Ranking of American national television total neutral biased coverage

4. Jill Stein 0.32%

Ranking of American national television total negative biased coverage

4. Jill Stein 0.05%


The pie chart captures the total national television coverage (including online content) of the
2012 U.S. presidential candidates from the FDA‟s 2,247 data points on the television
(Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012).


Analysis of American National Television Findings

Barack Obama had an advantage over Mitt Romney in the U.S. national television coverage of
the 2012 election. In the last 32 days of the election and based on the FDA‟s data collection,
Obama had 5.03 percent more total television coverage than Romney. However, more
significantly, Obama had 13.41 more positive television coverage than Romney, and Obama had
10.39 less negative television coverage than Romney. Both candidates had similar percentage of
neutral coverage: 54.22 percent for Romney to 51.20 percent for Obama.

U.S. national television coverage of third-party presidential candidates was almost non-existent.
In the last 32 days of the election and based on the FDA‟s data collection, third-party candidates
had 1.07 percent of the total television coverage, while Obama and Romney had 98.93 percent of
the television coverage.

The U.S. national television had more than double neutral coverage of Obama and Romney than
positive and negative coverage combined: 53.50 percent neutral coverage to 46.95 percent
positive and negative coverage. Percentages of positive and negative television coverage differ
by 1.03 percent: 23.99 percent positive coverage to 22.96 percent negative coverage.


Chapter Two: Total American Media Study Results
Chapter Two will show the FDA’s total media results for the last thirty days of the 2012
American Presidential Election

Overall data collection totals for all news coverage and biases (positive, neutral, negative).
Each data point in the table below represents a recorded bias from a particular news
story/information over the last 32 days of the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election:

POSITIVE 875 24.68%

NEUTRAL 1710 48.24%

NEGATIVE 960 27.08%
POSITIVE 1164 27.22%

NEUTRAL 2020 47.23%

NEGATIVE 1093 25.56%

POSITIVE 11 22.92%

NEUTRAL 29 60.42%

NEGATIVE 8 16.67%

POSITIVE 7 30.43%

NEUTRAL 14 60.87%

NEGATIVE 2 8.70%

POSITIVE 5 23.81%

NEUTRAL 15 71.43%

NEGATIVE 1 4.76%

POSITIVE 5 71.43%

NEUTRAL 2 28.57%
NEGATIVE 0 0.00%

TOTAL
BIASES 7921 100%


2012 U.S. Presidential Election: Percentage
Breakdown of Bias in U.S. National Media
Foundation for Democratic Advancement

Negative Bias
Positive Bias
26.40%
26.17%

Neutral Bias
47.43%

The pie chart captures the percentage breakdown of the total national media coverage in terms of
stories with positive, neutral, and negative bias. The breakdown is based on the FDA‟s data
collection in the last 32 days of the U.S. presidential election, in which 7,921 data points were
collected (Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012).


Ranking of American national media total coverage

Presidential Candidates Total Media Coverage
1. Barack Obama 54%
4. Jill Stein 0.30%

Ranking of American national media total positive biased coverage

4. Jill Stein 0.09%

Ranking of American national media total neutral biased coverage

5. Jill Stein 0.18%

Ranking of American national media total negative biased coverage

4. Jill Stein 0.03%


Total U.S. National Media Coverage
Foundation for Democratic Advancement

1. Barack 2. Mitt
Obama Romney
54% 44.75%
3. All other
candidates
1.25%
The pie chart captures the total national media coverage (including online content) of the 2012
U.S. presidential candidates from the FDA‟s 7,921 data points (Foundation for Democratic
Advancement, 2012).


Analysis of American National Press, Radio, and Television Findings

Barack Obama had a clear advantage over Mitt Romney in the U.S. national television coverage
of the 2012 election. In the last 32 days of the election and based on the FDA‟s data collection,
Obama had 9.25 percent more total media coverage than Romney. This Obama advantage is
increased by the facts that Obama had 2.54 percent more positive media coverage than Romney,
and Obama had 1.52 percent less negative media coverage than Romney. Both candidates had
similar percentage of neutral coverage: 48.24 percent for Romney to 47.23 percent for Obama.

U.S. national media coverage of third-party presidential candidates was almost non-existent. In
had 1.25 percent of the total media coverage, while Obama and Romney had 98.75 percent of the
television coverage.

The U.S. national media had 21.03 percent more content with neutral bias than content with
negative bias: 47.43 percent to 26.40 percent. Also, the U.S. national media had 21.26 percent
more content with neutral bias than content with positive bias: 47.43 percent to 26.17 percent.
The U.S. national media‟s negative coverage and positive coverage has a 0.33 percent difference.


The bar chart captures the total media exposure in terms of biases of the American political
parties and their presidential candidates from the FDA data collection. The total of the negative,
neutral, and positive biases for each party and candidate represents the total coverage for each
party and candidate from the FDA data collection. The vertical axis in the bar chart represents
the number of media data and thereby total coverage (Foundation for Democratic Advancement,
2012).


The bar chart captures the total media exposure in terms of percentage biases of the American
political parties and their presidential candidates from the FDA data collection. The bar chart
factors in percentage of coverage as well. Barack Obama had more total coverage than Mitt
Romney. In addition, Romney had a greater percentage of negative coverage as compared to
Obama, and Obama had a greater percentage of positive coverage as compared to Romney. The
third-party candidates had 1.25 percent of the total media coverage from the FDA data collection
of 7,921 data points (Foundation for Democratic Advancement, 2012).


Chapter Three: Analysis
Chapter Three will provide an overall analysis of the FDA’s media measurements.

In the three media areas, Barack Obama had a media coverage advantage over Mitt Romney.
Overall, Obama had 9.25 percent more total media coverage than Romney.

In addition, Obama had more positive bias coverage and less negative bias coverage (than
Romney) in all areas of the study with the exception of the national radio sector.

Even though Obama had 39.48 percent more negative coverage in the radio sector, Obama had
17.04 percent more total coverage in the radio sector than Romney.

The American election results were almost identical to the total media coverage results in terms
of election ranking and very similar in terms of percentage of candidates‟ media coverage and
percentage of candidates‟ popular vote with an average deviation of 1.07 percent.

FDA RESULTS

Democratic Party (Barack Obama) TOTAL 4,277 54.00%
Republican Party (Mitt Romney) TOTAL 3,545 44.75%

7,921

ACTUAL RESULTS - POPULAR VOTE

Democratic Party (Barack Obama) TOTAL 65,464,068 50.95%
Republican Party (Mitt Romney) TOTAL 60,781,275 47.31%
Libertarian Party (Gary Johnson) TOTAL 1,272,558 0.99%
Green Party (Jill Stein) TOTAL 465,766 0.36%
Constitution Party (Virgil Goode) TOTAL 121,114 0.09%
All Other Parties/Candidates TOTAL 371,376 0.29%

128,476,157


U.S. Presidential FDA ACTUAL
Candidates DIFFERENCE RANKING RANKING

Democratic Party
(Barack Obama) -2.55% 1 1
Republican Party
(Mitt Romney) 3.04% 2 2
Libertarian Party
(Gary Johnson) -0.38% 3 3
Green Party (Jill
Stein) -0.07% 4 4
Constitution Party
(Virgil Goode) 0.17% 5 5
All Other
Parties/Candidates -0.20% 6 6

6.42% Total Deviance
Average
1.07% Deviance


Ranking of American national press total coverage compared to popular vote results

Presidential Candidates Total Press 2012 U.S. Presidential Popular Vote
Coverage Results
1. Barack Obama 53.51% 50.95%
2. Mitt Romney 44.83% 47.31%
3. Gary Johnson 0.84% 0.99%
4. Jill Stein 0.34% 0.36%
5. Virgil Goode 0.34% 0.09%
6. All Other Candidates/Parties 0.14% 0.29%

Ranking of American national radio total coverage compared to popular vote results

Presidential Candidates Total Radio 2012 U.S. Presidential Popular Vote Results
Coverage
1. Barack Obama 58.32% 50.95%
2. Mitt Romney 41.28% 47.31%
4. Jill Stein 0.07% 0.36%

Ranking of American national television total coverage compared to popular vote results

Presidential Candidates Total Television 2012 U.S. Presidential Popular Vote
Coverage Results
1. Barack Obama 51.98% 50.95%
2. Mitt Romney 46.95% 47.31%
4. Jill Stein 0.36% 0.36%

Ranking of American national media total coverage compared to popular vote results

Presidential Candidates Total Media 2012 U.S. Presidential Popular Vote
Coverage Results
1. Barack Obama 54.0% 50.95%
2. Mitt Romney 44.75% 47.31%
4. Jill Stein 0.29% 0.36%

As shown in the tables above, the U.S. national television coverage most closely matched the
U.S. popular vote results, followed by the national newspaper coverage, total media coverage,
and national radio coverage.


The national radio sector was the most critical of the three media areas, as evidenced by the radio
sector having 24.59 percent more negative bias than the national television sector, and 22.35
percent more negative bias than the national television sector.

The national television sector (of the three media areas) was the least critical, as evidenced by
the television sector having 1.3 percent more neutral bias than the national newspaper sector, and
23.66 percent more neutral bias than the national radio sector.

In all three media sectors, the media coverage of third-party candidates was almost non-existent.
All third-party candidates received 1.26 percent of the total media coverage as compared to
98.74 percent for Obama and Romney.

The FDA researchers identified ownership concentration issues in the U.S. national television,
press, and radio sectors. The ownership issues are:

1. NBC Nightly News and ABC World News have 61.03 percent of the National News
Networks, Cable News, and Public News market in terms of prime time audience.

NBC Nightly News, ABC World News, and CBS Evening News have 82.22 percent of the
National News Networks, Cable News, and Public News market in terms of prime time
audience.

Related to these ownership percentages, the national television sector as mentioned above was
the least critical in content as compared to the newspaper and radio sectors. Also, there is cross-
ownership between the three media sectors, so these television companies have even more
influence over the American electorate. For example, CBS Corporation owns 29 television
stations and CBS Radio and 130 radio stations.

2. Bain Capitol /Thomas H. Lee Partners (Clear Channel) has control and/or access to 41.08
percent of American radio stations. The American radio audience is around 170 million.
However, Bain Capitol/Thomas H. Lee Partners have no cross-ownership in the newspaper and
television sectors. Also, based on the FDA‟s data collection, the radio sector has the most critical
content as compared to the newspaper and television sectors. Further, Bain Capitol/Thomas H.
Lee Partner‟s have only 26.91 percent of the American talk radio show market (based on the
audiences for the top 38 American talk radio shows) and control over 866 U.S. radio stations out
of 14,278 U.S. radio stations.

3. The top 10 newspaper companies in terms of circulation numbers own 66.84% of the U.S.
newspaper market. The 34 other newspaper companies own 33.16% of the U.S. newspaper
market. These findings are based on a U.S. newspaper market defined by the 100 top U.S.
newspapers in terms of circulation. The top 10 newspaper companies are independent of each
other in terms of parent ownership. In this study, the national newspaper sector had the lowest
negative bias coverage, and at the same time, the highest positive bias coverage.


The timeline chart captures the total media coverage of Obama and Romney, and in comparison
to five major events in the last 32 days of the 2012 U.S. presidential election. In terms of overall
coverage, Obama received an increase in coverage from four of the five key political events
identified in the chart. As illustrated in the timeline chart, the FDA researchers observed declines
in campaign coverage for each of the four weekend periods included in the study. These declines
are the result of talk radio broadcasts not being aired on the weekends, and declines in campaign
coverage during weekend periods for the press and television.

Obama received a more sustained increase in coverage and higher coverage from the 4th debate
(and final presidential debate) than he received from Hurricane Sandy.


In addition, Obama received the second highest daily coverage from the 3rd debate (second
presidential debate). Obama had 192 data points compared to Romney‟s 162. During this period,
the media attention was on Obama after his poor first debate performance and the Benghazi
hearing. (The highest daily coverage was on November 6th, Election Day.)

Only one day in this 32 day time line of total media coverage did Romney eclipse the media
coverage of Obama: October 10th—day of the Benghazi hearing. Romney had 138 data points
compared to Obama‟s 126.


Chapter Four: Conclusion
Chapter Four will provide a conclusion based on the FDA’s findings and analysis.

The FDA‟s findings show conclusively that campaign coverage is a major issue in American
presidential democracy. There is overwhelming evidence that the U.S. major media coverage
was titled significantly in Obama‟s favor, as illustrated by Obama having 54 percent of the total
media coverage compared to Romney having 44.75 percent. In the last 32 days of the
presidential election, Romney‟s total daily media coverage eclipsed Obama‟s total coverage only
once. In addition, third-party presidential candidates were practically non-existent in the total
media coverage, receiving a mere 1.26 percent combined total media coverage. Further, the three
major U.S. broadcasters have an oligopoly over prime time news coverage with an 82.22 percent
audience market share.

The FDA believes that these electoral fairness issues stem from a highly unregulated American
federal electoral system in terms of campaign coverage. The American public and private media
have free reign to determine their own election content during campaign periods. There is no
requirement for broad and balanced election coverage nor are there media ownership
concentration laws which prevent media oligopolies and monopolies except in the case of
uncompetitive practices. This excessive media freedom potentially undermines the media‟s
fundamental election purpose of helping to fully inform the electorate of their electoral choices.
Consequently, in the 2012 FDA Electoral Fairness Report, American federal media legislation
received an audit score of 42.5 percent out of 100 percent. This failing score is confirmed by the
findings of this report.

As most Americans are fully aware, unregulated freedom will likely lead to ill consequences as
witnessed by the recent corruption and mismanagement of the highly unregulated U.S. financial
sector. The same consequences apply to the media sector especially during the campaign periods.
What would have been the outcome of the 2012 presidential election if Romney received the
same total media coverage as Obama? How would the third-party presidential candidates faired
if they had 20 percent of the total media coverage rather than just 1.25 percent?

The issue at stake is the legitimacy of American federal democracy. Under the current media
arrangement, the U.S. national media has significant power to influence the American electorate
and thereby the election outcome. The media‟s influence is evidenced by the facts that the U.S.
national media campaign coverage in terms of candidate ranking correlated exactly to the
ranking of the U.S. popular voting results, and the percentage of candidates‟ news coverage
correlated very similarly to the percentage of popular votes received by each candidate. Yet,
democracy especially at election time is about the voice of the electorate. The only role of the
media is to help fully inform the electorate about their electoral choices, and then let the
electorate decide the election outcome. The media study presents significant evidence that this
did not take place in the 2012 U.S. presidential election.


Chapter Five: Recommendations
Chapter Five will set out the FDA’s recommendations on how the fairness of America's
presidential election coverage and media legislation may be improved.

Presently, the U.S. public and private media is unregulated in terms of the election content
during election periods. As illustrated by the media‟s coverage of the 2012 U.S. Presidential
Election, this unregulated state is failing to create broad, balanced, and complete campaign
coverage, and thereby an electorate inadequately and incompletely informed of their electoral
choices. U.S. Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United and the 1St Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution emphasize the high importance and protection of political free speech. The U.S.
Judiciary‟s extreme emphasize on political free speech has come at the cost of political fairness
and equality: freedom alone guarantees that those individuals and organizations with more
economic and political power will have significantly more influence on electoral discourse, and
thereby influence the election outcome. Freedom balanced with fairness and equality guarantees
that no individuals and organizations will dominate the electoral discourse, and that election
outcomes will more accurately reflect the voice of the electorate.

To rectify this serious election deficiency through paradoxically over emphasis on political free
speech, the FDA recommends that the U.S. Congress legislate a media code of conduct during
the 60 day federal electioneering period and the 30 day electioneering period prior to the
primaries.

The main points of the U.S. media code of conduct are

1. During the entire 60 day and 30 day federal electioneering periods, the U.S. major media
in the television, radio, and newspaper sectors (including online), are required to present
broad, balanced, and complete news coverage and related information of registered
presidential candidates and parties.

Broad coverage means coverage of all registered candidates and parties subject to
limitations.

Balanced coverage means equal weekly coverage of all registered candidates and parties
in terms of number of stories and editorials by the newspaper sector, number of stories,
news items, and interviews by the radio and television sectors subject to limitations on
equal coverage.

Complete coverage means comprehensive coverage of all registered candidates and
parties platforms and backgrounds.
2. Third-party presidential candidates are guaranteed 20 percent of the weekly coverage for
major presidential candidates, subject to the third-party candidates having at least 0.5
percent popular support from the electorate. Third-party candidates who do not meet this
popularity threshold have no guaranteed coverage.


3. The U.S. media code of conduct places no restrictions on the free speech of the media,
except by requiring a framework of campaign coverage and complete coverage of all
relevant and registered candidates and parties. The media‟s opinions themselves are not
regulated.

4. Federal Election Commission is empowered to monitor the media during the 60 day
election periods, and enforce the code of conduct.

5. Media companies which fail to uphold the media code of conduct are subject to fines,
suspension of campaign coverage, and loss of media license based on the severity of a
violation(s) and history of violations.

This media code of conduct would eliminate the need for media ownership concentration laws,
because all major media would be required to have broad, balanced, and complete campaign
coverage.

The current issue of almost non-existent media coverage of third-party presidential candidates
would be addressed through guaranteed 20 percent weekly coverage subject to having at least 0.5
percent popular support.

The current issue of the media‟s significant influence on the electorate and electoral discourse
would be addressed through the requirement of broad, balanced, and complete campaign
coverage.

The media code of conduct‟s impact on media companies‟ profits would be mitigated by all
major media being required to follow the code of conduct, and therefore no media would have an
unfair content advantage. In addition, the code of conduct only applies to the 60 day and 30 day
electioneering periods. In a four year election cycle, this requirement on the media is only 90
days out 1,460 days.

Even though U.S. federal candidates and political parties, through federal election law, have
equal access to media and are charged equally by the media for advertisements, equal access to
media and equal cost of advertisements do not necessarily translate into broad, balanced, and
complete campaign coverage. Ability to advertisement through the media is subject to ability to
pay. In addition, the media content itself is separate from political advertisements, and as the
U.S. Media Study shows, it can impact election discourse and ultimately the election outcome. In
his article, “Election Campaign Broadcasting in Transitional Democracies: Problems, Principles
and Guidelines,” P. Merloe came to the same conclusion arguing that biased broadcast news can
influence the election outcome even if there is equal access to broadcast media. (Merloe, 1994).

Examples of Media Codes of Conduct during elections and studies on them

1. Malawi Media Code of Conduct (Malawi Code, 2008).

The Malawi Code includes a requirement for balanced and impartial election coverage.


2. Guyana Media Code of Conduct (Guyana Elections Commission, 2000).

The Guyana Code requires balanced and accurate election coverage.
3. In 2010, Somaliland journalists adopted to Code of Conduct to guide their coverage of
Somaliland elections. The Code of Conduct is limited to journalist practices
(Somalilandpress, 2010).

4. Tanzania Media Code of Conduct (Tanzania Code, 2010).

The media of conduct is limited to codes for journalists during elections. There is no
overall code of conduct to guide the media.

5. Codes of Conduct for Elections (Goodwin-Gill, 1998).

This report examines role of media during elections and discusses the need for media
codes of conduct during elections.

6. Pakistan Media Code of Conduct during elections (Hadi, Aziz, 2012).

The Pakistan code limit election news to the election period, negative news stories are
restricted, personal stories on candidates disallowed, and media companies disallowed
from accepting funds which create a conflict of interest.

7. Venezuela Media Code of Conduct (Foundation for Democratic Advancement, Electoral
Fairness Audit Report on Venezuela, 2012).

Venezuelan Constitutional and Election law requires the candidates and parties to adhere
to daily caps on mass media advertisements and the media itself is legally required to
present balanced and complete campaign coverage.


References
African Elections Project. (2012). The Malawi Media Code of Conduct 2008. Retrieved from:
http://www.africanelections.org/malawi/knowledgecenter/?knw=27

arbitron.com. (2012). Radio Today. Retrieved
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United States--2012 FDA Presidential Election Media Study

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