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Boston, September 21, 2012: President Obama faced media pressure this past week as the spread of anti-American protests in the Middle East renewed debates about US foreign policy, clashes with Islam and diplomatic relations across the globe, according to Media Tenor International.

Media Tenor found that the coverage of Islam in the last year on the major TV networks has been low but consistently negative.

“The recent protests across the MENA region have raised serious questions on US leadership and involvement across the globe,” notes Casey Chancellor, analyst at Media Tenor. “The sitting president usually receives the most criticism, but with the US about to vote on whether it wants a leadership change, the foreign policy of both candidates entered the media narrative this week.”

A White House statement about the controversial film, that was framed as appeasement of Arab protestors by the Romney campaign, put pressure on Obama. Despite some pundit disapproval of those criticisms, Romney was framed far less negatively than the President on foreign policy, gaining more favorable ratings on diplomacy and key US relations, such as Israel, Iran and Afghanistan.

“It remains to be seen whether these protests will overshadow concerns about the economy when voters go to the polls in November,” says Chancellor. “But it´s less likely to have as much of an influence, as economic issues are closer to home."

Meanwhile, media tonality on the economy was more positive this week thanks to the Fed decision and a positive jobs report.

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