Newsletters

Boston, September 28, 2012: Ahead of the first presidential debates, more positive tonality on the economy and a boost in the Consumer Confidence Index put Obama in a more favorable position, according to research from Media Tenor International.

September proved a good month for Obama, as the media tonality on the economy remained on an upward trend, causing the Consumer Confidence Index to increase this month. The media trend on tonality for Obama in regards to the job market significantly increased in September as well, indicating that media tonality on the economic situation is positively influencing the incumbent.

According to Media Tenor research, the economy moved up on the media agenda this week, followed closely by foreign affairs issues.

“Despite the influx in news reporting on the recent protests across the Arab world, tonality on the economy is affecting the candidates in a more visible way than media reporting on international affairs,” notes Casey Chancellor, analyst at Media Tenor. “Media criticism over Romney´s comments on the ‘47%´ of Americans that don´t pay taxes did no good for his media ratings, while Obama received less criticism overall on his economic policies.”

CNN International has the most belief in Obama, as tonality on his economic policies is very positive, while remaining neutral for Romney.

Across all the major US TV networks, overall tonality on the candidates tipped in Romney´s favor this week, but Obama reclaimed a larger margin in the polls.

“The economic situation continues to be the influencing factor in media tonality on the candidates,” adds Chancellor. “Historically, this places Obama in the best position as the incumbent.”

<< back <<

Please login to get more in pdf