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WASHINGTON: Americans say the media are devoting too
much ink and airtime to the US presidential race, amid growing
criticism that news coverage has focused on the superficial instead
of important issues.
Half of the public, 51 percent,
say news outlets are offering “too much coverage of the
campaign,” according to a weekly poll by the Pew Research Center.
That was a marked rise from
January, when only 36 percent believed the news media was devoting
too much attention to the White House race.
During the Pennsylvania primary
vote last week, close to half of all news coverage concentrated on
the campaign even though only 25 percent of the public said they
were interested in the subject, the Pew survey said.
A majority of 54 percent said
they wanted news organizations to devote more airtime to the global
food shortage. Only three percent of all US news focused on the food
shortages, compared with 44 percent on the White House contest.
A narrow majority says the media
coverage has been balanced toward the two Democratic candidates.
Fifty-two percent say the press has been fair in its treatment of
Senator Barack Obama, and 57 percent say coverage of his rival
Hillary Clinton has been fair.
Obama is still seen by a larger
number of voters as getting softer treatment at the hands of the
press. In a CBS News/New York Times poll out Wednesday, one in three
voters said the media have been harder on Clinton than other
candidates.
But if Obama had an easier time
earlier in the race, the past several weeks have been rough. The
Illinois senator was thrown on the defensive about his remarks about
“bitter” blue-collar voters and faced intense scrutiny over his
ties to his controversial former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright.
Media critics say the incessant
focus on Wright is just the latest example of flawed reporting that
has emphasized trivial questions of personality over serious issues
affecting the future of the country.
The media’s role in shaping the
campaign came in for widespread criticism after the last debate
between Obama and Clinton on April 6, with ABC television
journalists accused of asking petty questions.
Obama complained afterward at a
protest that it took 45 minutes before he was asked about policy.
The candidates have complained
that the media have blown up minor controversies into major news,
such as Obama’s association with his outspoken pastor or the
former first lady’s exaggerated account of her landing in post-war
Bosnia.
--AFP
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