Media Matters has found that in the weeks leading up to the election, top print newspapers were covering former President Donald Trump on the front page considerably more than Vice President Kamala Harris. These findings follow claims from mainstream media that voters did not know Harris well enough.

Since Harris moved to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, mainstream media have claimed that she has not given enough interviews, suggesting that voters “need more information.” After Harris participated in a CNN town hall, for instance, CNN hosts claimed that there were still unanswered questions about “what she will do” and that “the personal part is sometimes missing.”

Media Matters compiled and analyzed front page print articles from 5 of the top print newspapers by circulation from weekday editions between October 15 and October 30, and found that coverage predominantly focused on Trump and his campaign was nearly double that of coverage predominantly focused on Harris and her campaign.

Of the 305 front page articles we looked at, 35%, or 107, were related to the 2024 presidential election. The New York Times and Washington Post led the election coverage, with 32 and 33 articles, respectively. And of those 107 front page articles about the election, 43 (or 40%) were about Trump, 23 (or 21%) were about Harris, and 23 (or 21%) were about both.

While they did give Trump more coverage than Harris, mainstream outlets have repeatedly failed to give sufficient coverage to news stories about Trump’s extremism and authoritarianism, and they have played a negative role in shaping public opinion on key issues like immigration and inflation. 

After former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley called Trump “fascist to the core,” a Media Matters study found only one print article from The Washington Post that mentioned the comments. The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal all failed to cover Milley's comments calling Trump fascist in their print coverage. 

After former chief of staff John Kelly went on the record and said that Trump is a fascist, that he has expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler, and that he repeatedly denigrated soldiers and the military, the story was not featured on the front pages of the top 5 print outlets, including The New York Times, the paper that published the online exclusive featuring many of Kelly’s comments.

Some in the media have admitted and acknowledged a double standard between coverage of the two candidates. As The Bulwark noted:

Media Matters compiled and analyzed front page print articles from the top 5 print newspapers, by circulation — New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today — on weekdays between October 15 and October 30. 

We included all articles that started on the front page of the newspaper, and we excluded small blurbs describing articles and photo captions.

Three researchers independently assessed these front page articles for two factors. They determined: (1) if the article was about elections, or (2) if the article was about Trump and/or Harris. Each page was reviewed individually and given a final code if two of the three researchers independently awarded it the same code. 

For an article to be considered about elections, the headline had to mention — or the article had to discuss — Harris, Trump, election officials, election process, or voting.

In order for us to consider an article to be about Trump or Harris, the article had to be predominantly focused on the candidate, their campaign, their policies, their allies, or their rhetoric. In order for us to consider an article to be about both Trump and Harris, the article had to be predominantly focused on or comparing both candidates, their campaigns, their policies, their allies, or their rhetoric. In order for us to consider an article to be about the election but not about either Trump or Harris specifically, the article had to be predominantly focused on the elections process or other election-related issues.