Media Matters for America

Special Report: Dissection of a Preacher Double Standard

Disparity in New York Times and Washington Post Coverage; Articles Mentioning Obama/Wright Outnumber McCain/Hagee by More Than 12 to 1

Report is available online at:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200804300007

Washington, DC -- In a study released today, Media Matters for America documents the enormous disparity between coverage by The New York Times and Washington Post mentioning Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and their coverage mentioning Pastor John Hagee and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). As the study illustrates, these two outlets combined have published more than 12 times as many articles mentioning Wright and Obama as they have mentioning Hagee and McCain.

"It is time for major media outlets to take a long look in the mirror and ask themselves if they've been covering the candidates for president with equally critical eyes," said Karl Frisch, a spokesman for Media Matters. "If they are honest, they'll admit they have not, just as this study shows."

Media Matters examined coverage mentioning Wright and Hagee from the Times and the Post since February 27, the date McCain accepted Hagee's endorsement. The full list of these pieces -- broken down by outlet -- is available online in the report.

KEY FINDINGS:

Since February 27, The Washington Post has published 53 articles mentioning Wright and Obama and only three articles mentioning Hagee and McCain.

During the same period, the Post published 40 editorials or op-eds mentioning Wright and Obama and only two mentioning McCain and Hagee.

Since February 27, The New York Times has published 46 articles mentioning Wright and Obama and only five articles mentioning Hagee and McCain.

During the same period, the Times published 22 editorials or op-eds mentioning Wright and Obama and only two mentioning McCain and Hagee.

Report Available Online at:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200804300007

More from Media Matters on Hagee/McCain:

http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/search_results?qstring=John+Hagee

More from Media Matters on Wright/Obama:

http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/search_results?qstring=Jeremiah+Wright