Statistics Show CNN, MSNBC Obsessed with Birther Coverage
Over at the Atlantic Wire, Eli Rosenberg compares the Project for Excellence in Journalism's statistics for cable news coverage of the birth certificate controversy for the week of April 11-24, and discovers that the primary promulgator of the birther conspiracy wasn't Fox News -- as Mr. Rosenberg lets on he had assumed -- but rather CNN and MSNBC, which devoted a staggeringly high proportion of their coverage to the controversy.
[H]ere's the curious thing, of those three networks, CNN and MSNBC devoted a far higher percentage of their Obama coverage to birthers than Fox News. The chart [below] shows the percentage of all coverage dedicated to the Obama Adminstration as well as percentage of all coverage dedicated to those "rumors."
When CNN covered the White House, 89 percent of the time they were covering rumors, while at MSNBC it was even higher at 93%. Fox News was downright moderate by comparison: birther coverage made up 48% of its Administration coverage.
Bottom line: the left-leaning media had an interest in magnifying the birther conspiracy. Now why do you suppose that would be the case?
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Dec '10
Re: Statistics Show CNN, MSNBC Obsessed with Birther Coverage
Heck, they're still wrapped around the axel over the JFK assasination, the moon shot (was it real??), the "stolen" election of 2001 and 9/11. That gives them plenty of experience.
CNN = Conspiracy News Network
Edited on Apr 28, 2011 at 4:32pmFeb '11
Re: Statistics Show CNN, MSNBC Obsessed with Birther Coverage
Because they think highlighting speculation that the increasingly unpopular president of the United States isn't actually eligible for the office is a fine tactic, and it will make people wondering why he won't release routine documents look foolish.
I question that belief. I suspect the brief speech Obama uncorked yesterday had been planned a good while ago, with the intention to deploy it after the GOP had been enticed to accept at least as much of the "birther" story as Trump accepted.
The problem became that too many independents and democrats were starting to wonder about what was actually the truth. So a theme planned for the campaign had to be unleashed way early, even though no one the Republican party had ever been associated with would give "birtherism" the time of day.
Re: Statistics Show CNN, MSNBC Obsessed with Birther Coverage
This is bad news for Obama. It suggests that the audience that watches these stations is sensitive to Trump's allegations. We should not underestimate the hidden current of dissatisfaction with this President among Democrats.
In 2012, they nominated a pig in a poke, and only now are they asking, "What did we buy into?" Trump can now focus on the college grades. These may turn out to be a very sensitive subject. The underlying question -- Bob Schiefer of CBS thinks it racist even to ask it -- is whether the President of the United States got where he got because of his brilliance or because, repeatedly in his case, no one asked, "Where's the beef?"
May '10
Re: Statistics Show CNN, MSNBC Obsessed with Birther Coverage
Xennady is of course correct. The reason those two outlets pushed the story so much is that they thought that it would reflect badly on the right. But as with so many intentions on the left, it perhaps had unintended consequences.
The mere fact that the story was given such prominence, perhaps sowed some tiny seeds of doubt where they otherwise might have not been. That is not to say that people suddenly converted to birtherism...but perhaps they began to doubt the sincerity of a President given the fact that he could have ended this 2.5 years ago. This feeling will now only be compounded by the other negative stories in the news.
Obama has only hurt himself by letting this persist for so long, and the liberal press has not helped him by playing it up with the intent of doing political harm to his opponents.
Aug '10
Re: Statistics Show CNN, MSNBC Obsessed with Birther Coverage
I'd like to see the graph "layered" on a corresponding representation of relative coverage of the Van Jones story (which was a bona fide scandal).
Jan '11
Re: Statistics Show CNN, MSNBC Obsessed with Birther Coverage
A logician would see the problem of misaligning the premises, but it doesn't take Mr. Spock to reject this. (If nothing else, not all opponents of Obama are birthers.) But it gives the almost-but-not-quite-logical thinkers of MSNBC just enough veneer to stare into the camera and pound on Obama's opponents.
Oct '10
Re: Statistics Show CNN, MSNBC Obsessed with Birther Coverage
FOXNEWS deserves its fair and balanced slogan.