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| A Weekly Dose of Reality on Social Security Reform May 17th |
Social Security Reform Is A Tough Job. Why Is The Media Making It Tougher?
According to a recent analysis of network news coverage of the President’s Social Security reform initiative by the non-partisan Center for Media and Public Affairs, the coverage has been overwhelmingly negative. Analysis over the last two months found that:
- 98 percent of the coverage surrounding the politics of the President’s plan has been negative and that 83 percent of the sources (experts, ordinary citizens, and the journalists themselves) made negative comments on the plan.
- On the merits of personal accounts, ABC was the most negative at 92 percent, followed by CBS at 89 percent, trailed by NBC at 69 percent.
- Of the 43 total stories covering Social Security from March 1, 2005 – April 30, 2005, only 21 stories discussed the looming crisis of the Social Security system, while 32 stories covered the politics of personal retirement accounts.
Even the most partisan and slanted polls on the public’s opinion of the President’s Social Security reform ideas and efforts wouldn’t produce numbers this bad. An issue this important deserves objective, fair, and balanced coverage from our television networks.