Fri, Sep 17, 2004 10:43am ET

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Media Tenor report: Negative reports on Kerry's military service dominated TV news in weeks between Dem, GOP conventions

According to analysis released September 14 by Media Tenor International (an independent and nonpartisan research organization), ABC, CBS, FOX News Channel, and NBC evening news reports on Senator John Kerry's military service far outnumbered reports on other topics relating to President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry. The analysis surveyed the period of August 1 through August 29; the "other topics" included campaigning and campaign strategy; foreign and domestic policy; personality; and terrorism.

Media Tenor also found that, while negative statements about Kerry's military service significantly outnumbered positive statements on both the network evening news programs and on FOX News Channel's Special Report with Brit Hume -- by a margin of more than two to one -- FOX News Channel's negative statements outnumbered those of the networks by 462 to 252.

In addition, Media Tenor tracked the number of anonymous sources cited in statements about Kerry's military service; the report revealed that Hume cited anonymous sources in twelve negative statements, compared with a total of four anonymously sourced negative statements on the three networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC).

—N.C.

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