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New York, September 5, 2008: With John McCain´s selection of the formerly little-known governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, as his running mate, he has energized his party´s conservative base, but the general electorate´s reaction to Palin joining the ticket is still being formed.

"By choosing the first woman to be nominated for vice president in the Republican party, McCain enhances his maverick image," says Roland Schatz, President of Media Tenor International. "But her conservative positions on social issues and her pro-drilling stance on energy policy also energizes the party´s traditional base. General voter reaction to her is still being formed, however, because she is so new to the national political scene."

Meanwhile, according to Media Tenor´s data, Obama has regained an edge on several key issues including the economy, health care and polls and predictions.

"Obama talked details during his convention, so he´s gained on some issues," notes Schatz. "Right now, the U.S. economy is receiving more positive media coverage, but his advantage on the economy could still have a big impact, especially as the unemployment rate is continuing to increase."

While convention bounces are a standard part of presidential politics, it remains to be seen whether those shifts will benefit either campaign in the long run. "This is an unusual campaign season, and both parties have had significant news coming out of their conventions, but the real question is what will be memorable to voters next week, next month and in November." Schatz says.

For the third time, International Media analysis company Media Tenor is offering a detailed analysis of the U.S. presidential campaign. TV news coverage of the leading Presidential contenders is scrutinized at a detailed level. “The methodology was developed 15 years ago and has been successfully used not only to analyze the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Presidential campaigns, but also for International politics,” Schatz explains. Media Tenor´s Presidential Campaign Watch focuses not only on candidate standings, but also on topics and sources, while adding an international perspective. Results of Media Tenor studies will be regularly published on MediaChannel.org.

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