STUDY: A Plurality Of Sunday Show Guests Discussing The Iran Nuclear Deal Were Opponents

A Media Matters analysis of the Sunday morning political talk shows found a plurality of the guests hosted to discuss the Iran nuclear agreement since it was announced in July opposed the deal. Notably, 63 percent of guests hosted on Fox News Sunday to discuss the deal opposed it, while only 13 percent supported it.

Media Displayed A Bias Against The Iran Nuclear Deal

More Sunday Show Guests Were Opposed To The Deal Than Were Neutral Or In Favor. The five Sunday morning political talk shows, including ABC's This Week, Fox Broadcasting's Fox News Sunday, NBC's Meet The Press and CNN's State Of The Union, from July 14, when the Iran nuclear agreement was announced, to September 6, hosted more guests opposed to the deal than guests who supported it. Of the total guests hosted on all of the shows to discuss the deal, 38 percent opposed it, 26 percent supported it, and 36 percent were neutral.

Only CBS Featured More Guests Supporting The Deal Than Opposing It. CBS's Face The Nation was the only Sunday morning political talk show whose guests supporting the deal outnumbered those opposing it.

Fox News Hosted The Most Iran Deal Opponents And The Fewest Supporters 

63 Percent Of Fox News Sunday Guests Opposed The Iran Deal, While Only 13 Percent Supported It. Of the 15 guests featured on Fox News Sunday to talk about the Iran deal, 63 percent (9 guests) opposed it, while only two guests, Secretaries John Kerry and Earnest Moniz, spoke in favor of the deal. Of all five networks, Fox hosted the fewest guests in favor of the deal and the most guests opposed to it. One quarter of guests were neutral towards the deal.

ABC Featured An Equal Number Of Guests In Favor Of And Opposed To The Iran Deal. ABC's This Week featured nine guests to discuss the Iran deal, four of whom supported the deal and four of whom opposed it. One guest was neutral.

On CBS, Nearly Two-Thirds Of Guests Were Neutral On The Iran Deal. Of the 18 total guests hosted on CBS's Face the Nation to discuss the deal, five guests (28 percent) supported it, two (11 percent) opposed it, and 11 (61 percent) were neutral.

CNN Featured A Roughly Equal Number Of Supporters and Opponents Of The Iran Deal. On CNN's State Of The Union, four guests (36 percent) were in favor of the Iran deal and five (45 percent) were opposed to it. Two guests (18 percent) were neutral.

On NBC, 33 Percent Of Guests Opposed The Deal, While 20 Percent Supported It. Of the 15 guests featured on NBC's Meet The Press, three (20 percent) supported the Iran deal and five (33 percent) opposed it. Seven guests (47 percent) were neutral.

METHODOLOGY: Media Matters searched Nexis for discussion of the nuclear agreement with Iran between July 14 and September 6 on the five major Sunday morning political talk shows: ABC's This Week, CBS's Face the Nation, CNN's State of the Union, Fox's Fox News Sunday, and NBC's Meet the Press.

Media Matters' Julie Alderman contributed research for this report.