CNN directly covers the 2012 election with sections dedicated to it, while also indirectly covering it through stories on Obama and potential Republican candidates. Real Clear Politics and Politico focus heavily on potential Republican candidates and criticisms of Obama, with Real Clear Politics accused of right-leaning coverage. Salon.com is openly critical of other news sources and covers the Tea Party more than others. All sites utilize polls and focus on fundraising and policy issues relating to potential candidates.

1. 2012 Election Coverage A look at CNN and online news sources

2. CNN Directly covers 2012 election “Top 5: 2012” section Election Center Political Ticker with 2012 news Indirectly covers 2012 election, as well Current Obama news (“Obama facing mounting criticism over Libya”) juxtaposed with 2012 candidate news

3. Potential Republican Candidates Many articles addressing Michelle Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty, and Donald Trump as potential candidates

4. Potential Republican Candidates Bachmann news about forming exploratory committee and participating in early debates Trump openly criticizes Obama (“Trump again questions Obama’s birthplace) Emphasis on Pawlenty’s roots and upbringing (“How Pawlenty’s life story prepared him for White House run,” “Pawlenty in South Carolina…”) Lots of miscellaneous stories on Newt Gingrich, but not as a potential candidate

5. More on CNN Themes Introducing Republican candidates/providing counterpoints to Obama’s actions and current operations Hypotheses based on polls (LOTS of polls!) Makes news less compelling (Recall Nyhan’s claim about polls’ insignificance at this time) Overall tone Rather neutral Pretty balanced coverage of Democrats and Republicans, but mainly coverage on Republican candidates and Obama (fundraising for campaign) However, there were features on Republican Congress members with Democratic challengers

6. Real Clear Politics Allows readers to obtain articles from various sources (FOX News, NY Times, Bill O’Reilly, Keith Olbermann) Accused of being right leaning, but it’s pretty balanced overall Began coverage on November 8 with “Goodbye, 2010, Hello, 2012” Most coverage painted doom for Obama Reports that he would have a primary challenger and likely win, but have trouble in the general election

7. Potential Republican Candidates Possible candidates in November include Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Mitch Daniels, Mike Pence, John Thune, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee

8. More on Real Clear Politics Basic content layout “2012 GOP Nomination” section with articles Headlines and articles include “DeMint predicts fresh GOP candidates for President,” Politico article about Barbour thinking Obama votes are “stupid,” Romney’s chances, Washington Post articles about lots of promising candidates who need to take the country back, video of Bachmann: “I want a waiver from the last two years of Obama” Poll averages at the bottom Has Real Clear Politics Poll Averages on the Bottom:President Obama Job Approval: RCP Average is 48.4% approve, 46.2% disapproveCongressional Job: 66.2 disapprove, 24.2 approveGeneric Congressional vote: 50.7 for Repubs, 41.3 DemocratsDirection of the country: 26.8 say right direction, 64.6 say wrong track

9. More on Real Clear Politics Themes Obama’s experience as a leader (with regards to Libya) Troubled economy (Obamacare heavily mentioned) Disapproval of Obama among potential candidates Lots of external articles about Republican candidates, not much about Obama’s campaign Varying coverage Mostly other sources, so there is not a balanced look Predominately Republican-oriented Critical coverage of Obama, but also Obama defense

10. More on Real Clear Politics No unique voice Compilation, database-like source Tone Neutral, like CNN Sources from both sides

11. Salon.com Founded in 1995 Claims to be the first online-only commercial publication Heavy use of humor and editorial content Political coverage page is known as “The War Room” Heavy coverage of the Tea Party and their questionable definition and influence Openly critical of other news sources (FOX News, The Huffington Post)

12. Salon.com Links Brett Baier on Daily Show Huffington Post, Andrew Breitbart Herbert Cain, "It's hard to interpret this exhange as anything other than straight-up bigotry" Donald Trump's White House Con Obama's "Intervention" in Libya

13. Politico Most stories are about possible political candidates “Romney’s Path: Victory by Slog,” “Bachmann Bid Could Shake Up the New Field,” “Bachmann Confirms She’s Inched Closer to the 2012 Election,” “Romney’s Iowa Strategy Still Uncertain,” “Huckabee: Evidence Mounts that He Won’t Run” 2012 Live Entire section dedicated to the election Potential candidates and news stories Candidate and early state trackers Links to candidates’ information and Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube pages

14. More on Politico Other candidates’ disapproval of Obama “Newt Gingrich blasts Obama on not confronting radical Islam,” “Sarah Palin slams Obama for interfering in Israel,” “Trump on ‘I’ve got my birth certificate, where’s yours?’” Stories on Obama and his progress and support for re-election These stories bleed into other issues like economy, national debt, and international problems (ex: Libya) Some reporting on Obama’s funding, but less than CNN

15. Potential Republican Candidates Not as much coverage of the Tea Party Focus on keeping GOP united under one common goal (get rid of Obama, cut government spending) Examples: “GOP’s 2012 Playbook: Cuts blaze trail,” “GOP govs show Obama no love,” “Limited government unites group”

16. More on Politico Convenient, user-friendly content Tone Similar to CNN (neutral with off-the-wire stories) Candidates should focus efforts on CNN Politico is similar, but CNN has a larger audience

17. More on Politico Themes Presidential candidates Links to other media sources (Facebook, etc.) Obama (indirectly) Most stories and reports on Obama involve other candidates’ thoughts and comments on him

18. Concluding Remarks Lots of direct and indirect coverage of the 2012 election Lots of coverage on Republican candidates on all sites Lots of Obama criticism (mainly with Republican candidates) Lots of polls Lots of the word “lots” on this slide