Media in favor of Kamala Harris: Report reveals widely uneven coverage on the campaign trail

A report reveals that several of the country's major television networks have carried out the most unequal coverage towards candidates in the history of presidential elections, significantly favoring the vice president and Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris.

According to the Media Research Center (MRC) report, ABC, CBS and NBC have brought Harris to 78% positive coverage on the nightly news since the presidential campaign began in July. In contrast, former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump has received 85% negative coverage.

Evolution of coverage

The report highlights that the situation changed dramatically after the Sept. 10 presidential debate despite an even start in Harris and Trump coverage. Since Harris joined the race, she received 353 minutes of coverage, very similar to Trump's 355 minutes. However, media attention shifted to Trump after the debate, who accumulated 398 minutes of coverage versus only 230 minutes for the vice president.

This additional time did not translate into a positive image for Trump. Of the 753 minutes devoted to him since July, approximately one-third, or 230 minutes, were focused on controversies, compared to 5% of Harris' coverage that dealt with difficult issues about her.

Critical issues and negative focus

Topics that generated the most negative attention to Trump include the Jan. 6, 2021 controversy and his claims that the 2020 election was rigged. Thirty minutes were also devoted to characterizing him as a danger to democracy.

The report indicates that the Big Three networks spent 18 minutes criticizing Trump for spreading alleged misinformation about the Biden administration's response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, 15 minutes attacking Trump for claiming that some illegal immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating pets, and an additional 13 minutes raising concerns about Trump's age and his fitness for another term as president.

Comparison to previous elections

The MRC report also notes that the difference in coverage this year is even more significant than in the 2016 election, where Trump received 91% negative coverage, while his rival, Hillary Clinton, had 79% negative coverage. In 2020, Joe Biden enjoyed 66% positive coverage versus 92% negative for Trump.

To conduct this analysis, MRC analysts reviewed 660 news segments from the ABC, CBS and NBC networks from July 21 through Oct. 25. Total coverage spanned more than 24 hours, almost evenly distributed among the three networks, with NBC leading with eight hours and 20 minutes.

Election forecasts

Despite the adverse coverage, polls indicate that Trump remains ahead of Harris in popular vote projections, suggesting that the networks' efforts to affect his candidacy may not be having the desired effect.