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As some pundits already send “A Farewell to Hillary” – as Charles Krauthammer put it in the Washington Post - current media analysis does not yet fully support the conclusion that Senator Clinton’s candidacy is a hopeless bid now – at least when comparing media coverage of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Media analysis reports support the conclusion that Senator Hillary Clinton succeeded in April in presenting herself as the generally more electable candidate compared with her opponent, Senator Barack Obama.
The Democratic candidates have painted themselves into a corner: Media coverage of Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama stressed the shortcomings of the candidates in the run-up to the Pennsylvania Primary.
Media Tenor’s analysis of international TV news shows how the image of China has been severely damaged and that the Chinese underestimated the political connotations of hosting the summer Olympic Games.
Neither Barack Obama nor Hillary Clinton have been able to get a clear media push before the Pennsylvania primary. The tone of coverage this week has been critical for both of them...
Senator Clinton’s efforts to turn the trend this week have not yet been successful. Positive issues did not make it into the TV news to counter the negative headlines on Mark Penn leaving her campaign team earlier this week.
Increasing media pressure concerning economic issues may create a problem for Senator McCain's future campaign...
NATO leaders have another task when they meet in Bucharest this week: Improving the international image of the organization.
Hillary Clinton's problems in correctly remembering her visit to Bosnia have brought her under fire in the news media. But Barack Obama has not been able to take advantage of this...
Today the official launch of the Western Islam Dialogue report by the World Economic Forum in association with Media Tenor International took place in London. Lord George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury and Co-Chair of the C100 Initiative of the World Economic Forum, held the opening speech at the seminar of Muslim Communities in Europe.
Barrack Obama is fighting for the survival of his campaign.
Detailed analysis of political coverage in leading U.S. outlets does not support the argument that Barack Obama is currently pushed by the media.
"The current U.S. media trend has changed: Clinton is up, Obama down. But you cannot say it's momentum," says Roland Schatz, President of Media Tenor International.
As pundits expect the end of Clinton's candidacy soon, media content analysis does not yet fully support the obituary...
Reports on an extramarital affair have not damaged Senator McCain’s media image so far...
After his sweep of the Potomac primaries Barack Obama seemed to be on the road to nomination. But Media Tenor’s research shows that he might lose momentum as current data show.
With the primary elections reaching a decisive period, political issues might become more important for voters. As Media Tenor’s research has found, a change in the political debate could benefit Senator McCain.
As Super Tuesday approaches, Media Tenor’s content analysis of the networks’ campaign show Obama and McCain as TV front runners. “The Florida results have not ended the boost for Obama so far”, said Roland Schatz, President of Media Tenor International.
Media Tenor’s Content analysis results that networks’ coverage in January presented two different types of candidates in the Democrats’ race: Clinton was better rated when leadership issues were mentioned, Obama had an advantage when personality topics were raised and in pure campaign and horse race coverage.
New York, January 17, 2007: Mediachannel.org, the world’s largest media issues online network, is going global with a new production entity.
Voter turnout at European Elections has been in perpetual decline since direct elections to the European Parliament were introduced in 1979. Turnout across Europe has decreased from 63% in 1979 to 45.6% in 2004. Evidently, voters do not attribute much importance to this European institution and Media Tenor’s research findings show that the Parliament’s poor media image may be among the factors contributing to voter indifference.
East Asian economies received the strongest media ratings in international TV news services around world during the first quarter of this year, research findings by Media Tenor show.
31.7% of reports on the Asian economies carried by 24 international TV news services around the world have rated the far eastern economies positively. West European economies trail close behind with 30.4%, but negative ratings for this region amounted to 27%, compared to just 17.9% for east Asia.
In the current political climate, it stands to reason that Arabic television portrays the U.S. government far less favorably than networks of the country’s traditional Western allies.
A common assumption — but it’s wrong!
Analysts in US media were generally upbeat on the IT sector during 2006, research findings by Media Tenor Research Institute show. The industry received overall positive coverage with major players sharing in the sector’s overall buoyant mood.
Al-Jazeera English hit the airwaves for the first time on November 15 promising a “new era in television news”. Broadcasting from studios around the world, it aims to challenge western dominance of the international television media and add a different perspective to international events.
Washington. International TV news are not interested in developments in Cuba, other than to report on Fidel Castro’s health or on conferences. So it is no wonder that Cuba’s share of news reports amounts to less than 0.5% of foreign news coverage in the US, the UK, South Africa, Germany and Middle East. The Latin American country had no chance of getting across to what extent its Socialistic model has proved successful, and whether it could serve as a platform to newly re-elected President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez.
They’ve had their highs, they’ve had their lows, but party leaders in the UK are presently running neck and neck in television news coverage. Research findings by international media research institute Media Tenor show that in October 2006, media ratings for the Tory, Labour and Liberal leaders were virtually the same, after all three parties had concluded their annual general conferences. Liberal leader Ming Campbell enjoyed a slight edge over Tory leader David Cameron, who in turn received relatively better ratings than Labour’s Tony Blair. But the difference between the three is negligible. No one leader enjoys a clear edge over the others and Media Tenor’s analysis of media ratings between January 2005 and October 2006 shows that media ratings can, and do, fluctuate, sometimes quite dramatically.
Bonn. More than one million people die of malaria every year, most of them in Africa. In the German media, however, there are few mentions of the tropical disease, as an analysis by Bonn’s media research institute Media Tenor has shown. Between October, 2005, and September, 2006, German opinion-leading media featured 1,442 reports whose main focus was on avian flu, while only five focused on malaria.
Bonn. „Manage Your Reputation“ is the motto of the 7th International Agenda Setting Conference, which opens on Wednesday, October 11th, 2006, at the Petersberg near Bonn. The conference, which is organized by the media research institute Media Tenor, brings together scientists and journalists from all over the world to meet with communication professionals working in politics, business and NGOs. Together they will discuss topical trends in applied research on media effects. Media Tenor expects a total of around 200 participants.
With problems at home and abroad and elections looming close, things could not look much worse for US President George Bush. But research findings by Media Tenor Research Institute in Bonn show that media pressure on the President has slightly eased in recent months.
A seven-country wide study of television news reports on the 2006 World Cup by Media Tenor Research Institute in Bonn shows that the four semi-finalists had been among the favourites from the very start, with the exception of France. Semi-finalists Germany, Italy and Portugal received positive media ratings throughout the review period – 9th to 30th June 2006 – together with Brazil and Ghana who received similar positive ratings and good coverage but did not make it to the semi-finals. France appears to have taken the media by surprise while Argentina, usually a World Cup favourite, received relatively more negative media ratings than the other favourites.
The death this week, of Enron founder and CEO, Kenneth Lay who was to be imprisoned on October 2006 will add more negative reporting to the energy industry whose reputation is already suffering enough from past scandals. This biggest-ever corporate scandal in the US received the most coverage from among all energy companies by leading US media, pushing down sharply the overall media ratings for the industry in February and March. Positive US media reports on soaring profits in the oil and energy industry have been dampened by court cases during the first four months of this year, research by Media Tenor Institute shows.
New York, 25 June, Agenda Setting effect allows to predict Consumer Confidence Index. Media Tenor’s latest findings for January 2004 - April 2006 underline a direct correlation between consumer confidence and media coverage of the economy. Consumer Confidence Index trends in the US trail behind media ratings of the economy by around one month, an on-going comparative study of the two economic indicators by Media Tenor Research Institute shows.
Dresden/Bonn. A new study by Media Tenor, the Bonn media research institute, shows how strongly the TV news coverage of events in Iraq in different countries is influenced by the political climate in those countries. The study, entitled “Framing the War on Terror and Iraq: A Cross-National Perspective,” will be presented to academics and communications experts from around the world in Dresden, at the annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA). For the study, which was created in cooperation with Emory University (Atlanta, GA), Media Tenor analyzed the TV news coverage of the war in Iraq in March and April of 2003 in Germany, Great Britain, the U.S., the Czech Republic, South Africa and on Qatar’s Al Jazeera
Iraq is still one of the most covered countries by international media, topping the bill in foreign news coverage in the US and Arab countries. But with terrorism and warfare being the topics most associated with the troubled Middle East country, the audiences in none of those countries can understand the development in this country since the end of the war. A Media Tenor analysis of news reports by international news media in the US, the Middle East, Germany and South Africa shows that media attention in Iraq reached a peak in January 2005, at the time of its first free elections. Coverage was relatively lower during the rest of 2005 and the first quarter of 2006, although way ahead of media coverage received by any country in the Middle East.
Ailing motor giant General Motors was the most covered company by opinion-leading US media during the first three months of the year, but an analysis of over 400 passages on the company by international research institute Media Tenor in Bonn shows that GM received predominantly negative coverage. It comes as no surprise for a company awash with so many problems that last year it saw its corporate credit rating reduced to junk status. Weighed by mounting losses, a shrinking market share and by heavy pension and benefit costs, the average media rating the company was –20%. It would be little consolation for GM to know that its equally ailing rival Ford Motors received nearly equally negative ratings, although half the media coverage. Inversely, Toyota tops the list among the positively rated companies, as the Japanese firm gears itself up to dethrone General Motors as the world’s largest car maker.
Al Arabiya beat its major competitor Al Jazeera by 1.4% in the Ipsos-Sat TV research survey for the most watched TV channel in Saudi Arabia. Founded as recently as March 2003, the Dubai-based TV network is already establishing itself as one of the most credible 24 hours news channels. Al Arabiya is not yet recognized as a top international opinion-leading Media but is fast on the way there. The Qatari-owned Al Jazeera has been experiencing contrasting fortunes. Founded in November 1996, it grew to become one of the most popular Arabic news channels in the Middle East. Within the Media Tenor Ranking, it placed third in 2004 with 269 quotations, thanks mainly to its coverage of the war in Iraq. In that year, Al Jazeera outscored the more established media like BBC, Le Monde, NZZ and even CNN, which received just 103 citations and saw its position plummet from 2nd place in 2003 to 13th place in 2004. But in 2005, Al Jazeera too saw its leading position in the Media Tenor Ranking disintegrate when it failed to even place among the top 20 most cited international media. This year, Al Jazeera appears to be making a small comeback, thanks to its screening of new videos of Bin Laden.
In January 2006, coverage of ‘anti-Americanism’ significantly increased in European media, and this was largely due to an increased coverage of the Iraq conflict and US relations with Syria, Iran and Palestine. US ratings in Asian media are usually balanced but even they took a turn for the worse last January over issues such as the BSE scandal, the US air force bases in Japan and Google’s decision to succumb to China’s censorship requests. Middle East print media ratings of the US remained negative throughout last year, particularly due to the Iraq conflict. In contrast to the print media, Arab television Al Jazeera’s ratings of the US were generally balanced and even showed an improvement in January 2006.
Five successive poll findings by Pew Research Center in the US show that President George W Bush’s poll ratings were in steady decline throughout 2005. These findings were predictable by results obtained from international media research institute Media Tenor which has analysed media coverage of President Bush in US media outlets. Media Tenor’s findings showed month by month increasingly negative media ratings of the President’s performance throughout 2005, once again re-enforcing the conviction that media plays a major role in shaping public perceptions.
New York, February 3, 2006. Some rode the wave, others just sank. It was a year of mixed fortunes for America’s leading companies with both wonderful success stories and massive failures. The Media Tenor Research Institute’s analysis on company media presence and ratings during 2005 shows how the fortunes of companies, and their executives, remain prime fodder for leading US opinion makers. The US technology sector contained the highest flyers in media ratings during 2005. Microsoft received the most media coverage as it continued to perform well, with positive media ratings on both its products and management strategies. Search engine Google received high ratings as the Silicon Valley company’s shares rose, bringing fresh optimism and excitement to the dot com industry. Apple’s Ipod, which combines cutting-edge technology with simplicity, spurred the company’s fortunes and positive media ratings.
New York, January 20, 2006. One walked free the other went to jail, but media ratings have their own sense of justice. Richard Scrushy, former CEO of HeathSouth, was acquitted of directing an accounting fraud that nearly bankrupted his chain of rehabilitation hospitals while Tyco tycoon Dennis Kozlowski was imprisoned for theft from his manufacturing conglomerate. Different fates for different kings, but a media analysis by the Media Tenor Research Institute on HealthSouth’s and Tyco’s media presence and ratings in 2005 shows an abysmal public image on the management of both, with negative ratings averaging between 70 and 80 per cent.
New York, January 23, 2006. The Wall Street Journal was the most quoted foreign newspaper by German media in 2005. An analysis of Germany’s 39 leading media by Media Tenor Research Institute in Bonn places the Wall Street Journal at the top of the list of quoted foreign media with 661 quotes. The New York Times came a close second with 626 while the Financial Times placed third with 431 quotes. The Washington Post and BBC were cited 403 and 375 times respectively. Arab Television Al Jazeera placed seventh in the top ten most quoted international media in Germany with 217 quotations.
New York, December 20 2005, Media Image of Israel improved significantly over the last three years and consequently more German tourist are thinking Israel a good travel destination. According to Israel’s Central Bureau of statistics, tourist arrivals in Israel increased in 2004 and especially in the first quarter of 2005. Why are people again finding Israel a good travel destination? One of the reasons may be the improvement in the country’s media image in recent years. Media Tenor research institute has analysed German opinion leading media from 1998 to 2005 and came upon an interesting result.
There was a perceptible difference between the coverage on the tsunami that hit South-East Asia in December 2004 and the earthquake that hit Pakistan in October 2005. The tsunami received far more extensive coverage in all countries analyzed in both television and print media. The earthquake in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan did not cause as high a death toll as the Tsunami but left more than 3 million people homeless in freezing weather in comparison to 1.5 million displaced people in Tsunami affected areas of moderate temperature. Low media presence contributed to the fact that timely help did not reach the thousands of people living in rugged, mountainous areas which could be accessed only by 70 available helicopters. By contrast 4000 helicopters were available to the areas affected by the Tsunami. Both disasters resulted in an out-pouring of global donations and fund drives. The magnitude of both disasters was different in terms of the death toll and economic devastation and this could be a factor as to why the Tsunami received far more coverage which in turn affected private donations. The Tsunami affected tourist areas which could also explain why there was more reporting and global solidarity. In either case, the volume of coverage was very low given the fact that hundreds of thousands of lives were lost. If this reporting trend continues, it will lead to lower international awareness and consequently an avoidably high death toll from lack of aid and relief efforts.
Lugano, October 27, 2005 – The Media Tenor Award for Media Diversity set the tone for the event at the start of the 6th International Agenda Setting Conference in Lugano, Switzerland, this Wednesday evening.
War is a dominant rhetoric in the coverage on President Bush and despite coverage on relief efforts post-Katrina, military activities rank high on the media agenda. President Bush’s ratings seemed to improve after Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza strip on the 12th of September as well as his Presidential address from Jackson Square in New Orleans on the 15th of September. The immediate decline in ratings seen post-Katrina, seem to be improving.
New York, September 28 2005. Consumer confidence in the U.S. rose in August and thus corresponded to the more positive tone in the news coverage of the economy in TV news. The overall rating of the economy (the balance between the total number of positive and negative statements) was –24 in June and -25 in July. During that same period, the Conference Board registered a decline in the confidence index, from 106.2 in June to 103.6 in July. In August, the overall tone of the coverage of the economy stood at –17.14, which, though negative, was a clear improvement in comparison to July. In conjunction with the more positive media coverage, consumer confidence rose to 105.5 points in August.
Despite the fact that overall coverage ratings based on news from NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox nosedived post Katrina, Fox news led coverage in terms of volume and maintained the least amount of negativity. Ratings seemed to improve around the 5th of September, but took a turn for the worse after the 6th of September.
Coverage of the U.S. Presidential administration on U.S. television news grew increasingly negative in August and ratings virtually sky-dived towards the end of the month, when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Except for news relating to Petroleum consumption standards, top news topics relating to the Presidential administration were about the war in Iraq and reconstruction efforts. News stories about the overhaul of the social security system, while present to a small extent were not linked directly to the administration.
At a time when the Bush administration started its attempt to overhaul the old-age-provision and health system, with social security being foremost on its agenda, media reporting shifted its focus to the value of real estate in the U.S. and predictions about a ‘housing-bubble’. Although there was a
International relations and conflicts dominated coverage of topics related to president George W. Bush in the first half of 2005. This was the case across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Coverage of President George W. Bush was lower in the second quarter of 2005 than in the first quarter. The most remarkable decrease was seen in European media where the volume of coverage dropped to less than half of what it was in the first quarter. Asian and Middle Eastern media showed a marginal decrease in coverage.
Bad news seems to be good for U.S. opinion leading media that are intent on using corporate malfeasance or a change in corporate leadership as the main factor in their news-selection process. This was apparent in the first half of 2004 as well as 2005. Prime examples of this in 2005 were AIG, which, under its former CEO, Maurice Greenberg, was found to have overstated profits, the continuing fallout from irregularities in Citigroup’s Japanese private banking unit and the downgrade of GM’s bonds to junk status. In the first half of 2004, the resignation of Michael Eisner, whose position will be filled by Robert Iger, drew a lot of negative press for Disney. In 2005, HP’s CEO, Carly Fiorina, was ousted and replaced by Mark Hurd and at JP Morgan, veteran banker John Mack replaced Phillip Purcell as CEO.
Media Tenor analyzed the coverage of the presidential campaigns in leading U.S. media, highlighting trends in the political coverage in the U.S. and studying the impact of the media on polls and voter behavior. A report detailing the most important findings of this long-term analysis is now available for purchase. The charts and comments contained in the report examine how leading U.S. media performed their duty to provide the public with information during election year. For academics, media researchers and students, they can serve as a starting point for further analysis of the news media or as supplementary information to their teaching and learning experiences.
The Labour Party began the year with a very negative image which only started to recover toward the end of March, though Prime Minister Tony Blair’s media image continued to be negative. The BBC referred to the result of the election held on May 5 as a “historical third term” for the Labour government. Tony Blair’s media image suffered as a consequence of the controversy around the Iraq war, the introduction of ID cards, the EU referendum and general issues concerning public trust and the PM’s character.
New York, 11th June 2005. American media dominated the number of citations in the German press. During the first six months of 2005, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times were the most cited international media . The Wall Street Journal was cited 317 times in 39 German media within the first half of 2005 and holds the overall top position. The New York Times follows closely with 316 citations. Al Jazeera lost its 3rd position and completely disappeared from the top 20 cited media in 2005. Al Jazeera was mostly cited due to the war in Iraq and managed to overtake CNN in 2004 when CNN lost its 2nd position from the year 2003 and dropped rapidly to the 13th place. Media no longer focused on CNN but rather on Al Jazeera which was cited 269 times in 2004 whereas CNN was cited only 103 times.
New York, June 30th 2005. While he might not have received as much attention as Martha Stewart, ousted CEO of HealthSouth Corporation, Richard Scrushy, did make a splash in U.S. news, having been charged with directing a six-year scheme to inflate the health
New York, June 29th 2005, Gerhard Schroder figures among the top ten foreign leaders in U.S. news media primarily because of President Bush‘s visit to Germany. Foreign leaders mentioned in U.S. media are those who have a direct connection with the U.S. as a result of foreign policy or their notoriety as in the case of Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden and Abu Musab al Zargawi.
New York, June 21, 2005. The Consumer Confidence Index recovered in May. In the past, the development of the Consumer Confidence Index reflected the tone of the media coverage of the economy in U.S. TV news with a lag of about two months. That lag has shortened drastically in May. In Europe, in comparison, the Consumer Confidence Index has been following the media coverage with an approximate three-week lag, according to Media Tenor’s data.
Issues that should have merited more coverage such as the European Union and the European Constitution received no mention among the top stories covered by the BBC during the first quarter of 2005. Britain rejecting the EU budget rebate freeze could have major repercussions on the UK and the European economy as a whole. Tony Blair is unlikely to compromise his stand on the budget freeze given the political pressure he is facing over Europe at home and the consequent suspension of the referendum on the European Constitution in Britain.
Aside from carmakers and financial institutions, German companies were a rare sight in U.S. media during the first four months of 2005, according to an analysis by media research firm Media Tenor of Bonn, Germany. Even large corporations like Siemens and Deutsche Telekom were not able to build a sustainable media presence. Bertelsmann, ranking fifth, received some media attention – however, the news were not always good. In January, reports on pending court proceedings significantly impaired the company’s overall media image.
One thing can be observed more and more frequently in poll results: There is a relatively quick progression of ups and downs in the political climate in favor of one party or against another.
New York, May 17. While the war and the insurgency in Iraq easily piqued the media’s interest, the same cannot be said about conflicts in Congo, Uganda and Sudan. Despite the humanitarian crises in these nations, they remain almost invisible in most media. The Media Tenor research institute analyzed the international news coverage in TV and print media in South Africa, the U.S., Germany and in the Middle East between 1/1/2004 and 3/31/2005.
New York, April 28, 2005. Consumer confidence fell in April and is likely to continue to fall over the next month. Media Tenor found a direct correlation between consumer confidence and media coverage of the economy. After eleven years of continuous media analysis, Media Tenor’s research shows a strong correlation between how the media portrays the state of the economy to the general public and public perception of the overall situation of a country’s economy. Media Tenor started to do research on this issue in Germany and has since successfully expanded the scope of inquiry to other countries, such as the U.K., South Africa, the Czech Republic and the U.S.
Current opinion polls say that Labour is still in the lead, but the government is losing ground: Last Week the Tories were rated better than Labour for the first time since the beginning of March. Media Tenor’s analysis of five TV newscasts and one Sunday paper shows that TV news in particular covered Michael Howard and the Conservative Party in a slightly more negative tone, with overall more positive reporting on BBC’s “Newsnight.” The news coverage of the Tories was particularly positive in the contest of domestic security and immigration enforcement.
New York, 28 April 2005. With the success of Condoleezza Rice and other women working in Congress and in President Bush's cabinet, women have also appeared at the center of political news coverage more frequently. However, when it comes to business coverage, women are all but invisible. In the Wall Street Journal, the total share of coverage of female protagonists did not exceed 11% in the last 15 months. The overall share of coverage of women in U.S. media increased by a small margin in the first quarter of 2005, compared to 2004. Media Tenor Institute analyzed the news coverage in seven opinion-leading media between January, 2004, and March, 2005, and noted each time any individual was mentioned for at least five lines (print media) or for five seconds (TV news).
U.S. President George W. Bush started his 2nd term with a remarkably mild media echo as a Media Tenor study shows. Although his ratings in the networks’ main evening news stayed negative in the 1st quarter of 2005, Bush’s media image improved notably in comparison to the first months of 2004. But the President has not yet returned to the approval levels of his first year in office, when TV coverage was rather positive after the attacks of September 11th , 2001.
President George W. Bush’s trip to Europe had a positive effect on the international media image of the U.S., but it waned quickly. In March, as they had prior to February, media in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, presented the U.S. in a predominantly negative tone. The prevailing negative public sentiment in Germany toward the U.S. and the president in particular is thus also unlikely to change. The polling institute ipsos found that German respondents’ negative opinion toward the U.S. exceeded their negative opinion of France by a factor of six. In the same poll, conducted 18 months ago, they gave President Bush a negative 2.7 rating on a scale between negative 5 and plus 5, while the French president received a plus 1.5 rating. “Only one month of positive reporting on the U.S. related to the Bush visit to Europe is not enough to change the general climate,” says Markus Rettich, head of political research at the International Media Tenor Institute, based in Bonn, Germany.
The Labour party dominated British TV news at the beginning of April. However, a closer look at the actual issues that were covered reveals that the Tories could hurt Blair’s image. Media Tenor analyzed the content of the political news coverage on BBC1, BBC2, ITV and ITN from 1/1-4/6/2005, focusing particularly on the period from April 1-6. Blair received the most criticism in regard to his personal life and attributes, while the Labour government received predominantly positive coverage regarding its policies. The Tories failed to maintain a high visibility in the news, but received very positive coverage about favorable public opinion polls.
New York. The perception of industries depends greatly on what people read in the media or see on evening news broadcasts, according to a comparison of Media Tenor's media analysis with research from Gallup. Media Tenor analyzed all reports on companies from various industries on the evening news broadcasts of NBC, ABC, CBS and in Newsweek between January and August 2004 and compared the ratings of the different industries with their public perception. Of all industries, the IT industry, along with the automobile and airline industries, received the most positive coverage in the media in the first seven months of 2004. The airline industry also received the best ratings in Gallup's 'Business and Industry Sector Rating'-poll in August of 2004, with 60% positive responses.
The coverage of Tony Blair and his opponent Michael Howard in the BBC headline news (News at Six & News at Ten) indicates a narrow race in the upcoming election of the lower houses on May the fifth, as was found by a recent study of the BBC News by the independent media research institute Media Tenor. Blair’s media image was dramatically damaged due to the foundering of his Anti-Terror laws at the end of March. While Blair was criticised around issues of home affairs during the first three months of this year, compared to his opponent, he is trusted upon in issues such as economics and social politics. Even though Blair’s image is showing a downward turn, it certainly is not to say that Howard can present himself as the clear favourite compared to the current Prime Minister.
Companies that only receive a small amount of media coverage are at greater risk of suffering serious damage to their image in the event of a scandal or crisis. A Media Tenor study points to some examples of how communicating below a certain awareness threshold can harm the reputation of a company. The reputation of insurer AIG was badly damaged when it received a heightened amount of media coverage following allegations from Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. But one part of the problem for the company was the fact that it had been receiving comparably little coverage in opinion-leading U.S. media in the three years prior. News coverage of AIG before the Spitzer investigation focused largely on financial results - a far too small and narrow area of news to allow the company to build a sustainable, broadly-based media image, which would have served to insulate it from media criticism to some extent, to create greater awareness and to earn greater public credibility.
The lower volume of coverage on funds in the U.S media has made them more vulnerable to the Spitzer-tactics, which is actively making use of the media power to force companies into quick settlements. Media Tenor research institute conducted the study on U.S opinion leading media on investigations and settlements with regard to the financial industry. This study analyzed the data from 01.01.2004 – 31.12.2004 in 23 U.S. media outlets. All together 79,341 passages on banks, financial services providers, Funds, insurance companies were analysed.
Media Tenor compared the media reporting on the job market in the U.S media with the poll conducted by Gallup Organisation. Gallup asked people how they feel about the job situation in America today. The poll was focused on whether it is now a good time or a bad time to find a quality job. Media Tenor compiled the data concerning the situation on the job market including information such as statements, forecasts and prognoses on number of vacancies, rising/decreasing unemployment, the overall situation in the job market etc. and compared the rating of media reports in Newsweek, Time and ABC, NBC, CBS TV news with the poll answers. The study observed that the people’s perception of the reality reflects the media reporting.
Media Tenor recently analyzed the automobile industry in opinion-leading UK media during the 75.International Auto Salon in Genf. As in previous years, Toyota achieved the most favorable ratings among large car makers in 2005. German car manufacturers, on the other hand, lost ground regarding reputation in the media due to a lack of profitability and quality troubles at Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler. Media Tenor discovered a pessimistic trend for the future of the car industry in the opinion-leading media in the UK.
Bush’s trip to Europe caused a change in Media-Image. Polls in Germany show the first impact: negative judgements on the German-American relationship went down by 10%. Media Tenor analyzed the visit of President Bush to Europe during time frame of February 20-25, 2005. Over the last months Anti-Americanism increased and according to the polls it reached its highest level. Negative coverage of the U.S contributed significantly to the Anti-Americanism. However, as Media Tenor predicted, the media coverage in the most countries analyzed was considerably less negative during the President’s trip.
In the first two weeks of April, economic issues dominated the news coverage of politics in the U.K., resulting in overall more positive than negative media ratings of Gordon Brown. The Labour party profited both from the economic coverage as well as the concurrent decline in news reports from Iraq. British involvement in Iraq had put a continuous strain on the media image of Tony Blair, but the war did not figure prominently in the news in the early stages of the election campaign.
Although the international HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to worsen, the general public receives very little information on it from the media. The latest study from Media Tenor indicates a lack of media reporting on HIV/AIDS, especially in South Africa, where an estimated one in nine citizens is HIV positive. Even though HIV/AIDS is the most frequent cause of death in South Africa, media awareness of the topic is negligible: only 1% of the total of TV news stories is focused on the subject. HIV/AIDS also receives very little attention in German and U.S. TV news, with only 0,2% of the total coverage in either country being focused on HIV/AIDS.
Media Tenor research institute recently compared the ratings of the overall economic development in the ABC, CBS and NBC evening news with the Consumer Confidence Index. The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. Media Tenor compiled the data concerning the economic development e.g: statements, forecasts and prognoses of the general economic situation; assessments of the sentiment of businesses, investment and unemployment. The Consumer Confidence Index weakened significantly in February. Consumers began the year on a high note, but their optimism has quickly given way to caution. Consumer Confidence Index tends to follow the rating of the economic development with the lag of about one month.
ABSA, Telkom and Harmony were the most reported on companies in leading South African media in 2004, according to research conducted by Media Tenor South Africa. All articles in the business, opinion and news sections of leading print media, as well as all reports on television news were analysed over a period of 12 months, totalling 190229 reports/articles.
A new Media Tenor study on the coverage of ethnic and racial groups shows that leading US media distorts the image of American society to the general public and thus reinforce old stereotypes with a lack of diversity in reporting. The results show an unbalanced portrait of society with minorities playing secondary roles in news stories, while white Americans lead most of the political and economic events.
When it comes to the top 10 women present in the media, political representatives dominate. Martha Stewart was the only woman from another arena to make the list in 2004 due to her stock scandal and subsequent jail sentence.
New York, August 24, 2004 - Eastern European countries have only been receiving an insignificant share of the foreign news coverage in U.S. media. An analysis by Media Tenor, an independent institute analyzing international media, shows that from July 2003 to July 2004 only 1.9% of the news reports on foreign countries in five leading U.S. media focused on Eastern Europe.
A study of e.tv news and SABC English news bulletins from January 2002 to December 2003 shows that democracy-related issues received negligible coverage on both these channels. Over the two-year period only 1.2% of the stories on e.tv's 7pm primetime news bulletin (16 894 reports analyzed) and 1.8% and the English news on SABC (14 310 reports analyzed) dealt with issues related to democracy.
New York, July 29, 2004 - U.S. TV network news reports children, teenagers and the elderly in a highly negative tone. Of all the reports on children and teenagers from January 2003 to July 2004, nearly 50% of the reports had a negative tone or context. Similar ratings appeared in the coverage of the elderly, with 44.6% of the stories negative.
New York, September 15, 2004 - Between January 2002 and August 2004, almost 62% of all news stories in U.S. media with a member of the clergy as the main protagonist were overall more negative in tone.
NEW YORK - July 13, 2004. Media coverage of the overall economic development in U.S. TV news has been strongly positive in June, consequently resulting in increasing consumer confidence ratings. The positive news predominantly concerned the strong economic growth and the creation of new jobs, even in the manufacturing sector, softening concerns about outsourcing.
New York, July 12, 2004 – The coverage of ethnic and racial groups in leading U.S. media presents clear trends that, more than representing various groups of the society, may help feed stereotypes. Media Tenor, an independent media analysis institute, analyzed all news reports in which a member of a selected number of ethnic and racial groups was the main protagonist of the story between January 2002 and May 2004.
London, July 7, 2004 – The United Kingdom's news coverage in the context of international politics and war from January 2002 to May 2004 was largely negative in tone, especially in U.S. media. In the U.S., 45% of the reports on Blair, the third most-mentioned foreign leader (after Saddam Hussein and Ariel Sharon), were negative in tone – a much worse result than for Vladimir Putin, the fourth in the ranking, with a 6% share of negative reports.
NEW YORK - June 23, 2004. The effect of TV news on consumer confidence polls can be observed with an approximate one-month delay, in a study released by Media Tenor, an independent media analysis institute. Media Tenor analyzed the representation of the American economy on TV evening news.
NEW YORK - June 17, 2004. The image of Ariel Sharon in U.S. TV news has been three times as negative as last year. From January to April, 60% of the reports on Sharon in U.S. network news were negative, while 10% where positive. The remaining reports were neutral or ambivalent in tone. Most of Sharon's negative coverage came from reports on his public appearances.
The Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal have been providing a truly optimistic portrayal of Asian companies, while the news on European and North American businesses had an overall negative tenor. Media Tenor analyzed the coverage of the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal (European and U.S. editions) between January 2002 and April 2004 to assess how the three newspapers have been portraying these markets.
NEW YORK - June 10, 2004. The healthcare industry received less than 1% of company-related coverage in opinion-leading U.S. media, ranking behind 20 other major industries in the U.S. between January 2002 and April 2004. The healthcare industry was reported on in 1,540 passages - a pittance compared to the coverage of other industries. The financial industry, the most mentioned of all, was reported on in 53,144 passages, followed by the IT industry (28,192) and the chemical and pharmaceutical industry (19,665).
HIV infection rates in South Africa are among the highest in the world. UNAids, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, estimates that almost 30 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV. South Africa, widely acknowledged as the country hardest hit by AIDS, is estimated to have more than five million people who are HIV-positive in a population of 45 million.
The five cities applying to host the 2012 Olympic games that have been accorded the offical status of candidate city by the IOC were those with the strongest international media presence. This is the result of an analysis done by Media Tenor, a non-partisan media analysis institute.
NEW YORK - May 1, 2004. The latest report from Media Tenor, an independent, non-partisan institute examining worldwide media coverage, points to the intense focus of U.S. media on corporate scandals in the first quarter of 2004. Martha Stewart tops the list of most mentioned managers in the studied media with 190 reports, followed by Dennis L. Kozlowski (50), Samuel D. Waksal (33), Kenneth Lay (21) and Bernard J. Ebbers (16). The top executive on the list who is not involved in recent scandals is Steve Jobs, with a modest 14 reports, followed by Bill Gates and Donald Trump.
President Bush planed his trip to Europe at a time, as European Media report critical about his policy - but the image might change. President Bush plans his five-day trip to Belgium, Germany, and Slovakia this week. He will conduct a series of speeches and meetings, including a day with German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, one of his strongest critics, and a dinner in Brussels with French President Jacques Chirac, who has been a particularly bitter opponent of Bush's war in Iraq. His goal is to remind both Americans and Europeans that the transatlantic relationship is very important for mutual security and for peace. Several surveys showed that U.S. foreign policy is portrayed very negatively in Europe. However a visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was received relatively positively in the analyzed German, French and Italian media. Media Tenor research institute evaluated the visit from February 1st - 10th and observed a slightly positive welcome.
© 2007 Media Tenor International
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