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Boston, June 16, 2012: Negative tonality on Obama´s leadership abilities has increased in German and UK media, reflecting a trending shift in international opinion on US economic and foreign policy, according to Media Tenor International.

Despite a focus on increasingly negative tonality on the economy correlated to President Obama in US media, negative tonality associated with Obama in European media revolves around his suitability to govern. Although the UK is more critical of his economic policies, Germany focuses more on international politics rather than the economy. In addition, US media has been largely silent on Obama regarding sovereign debt.

“The trends in international media coverage of Obama reflect that Europeans may not be associating the global economic crisis with US financial policies, but are rather more disillusioned with foreign policies,” notes Casey Smith, analyst at Media Tenor. “Notably, the focus is on anti-terrorism measures. This may indicate a shift in the international perception and role of US economic and military power.”

How does this affect the US election? "Voter faith in Obama´s ability to lead and sustain US influence in international affairs may be at risk – especially with a lack of media focus on Obama in regards to the euro crisis,” adds Smith.

Next to economic policies, negative tonality on international politics are the focus of US media – which may make Obama more vulnerable to changes in global opinion. Tonality on the US has gone south in Canadian, Italian, German, UK and French media. Domestically, ABC has significantly dropped support for Obama, while NBC and Fox have reported on Romney more favorably in June. Internationally, Romney´s visibility is low with little coverage on his actual policies – ultimately leaving him less vulnerable to international criticisms. Meanwhile, media tonality on the economy in US media is at an all time low, giving no advantages to Obama.

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