MRC Newscasters analysts took a deep dive into ABC’s World News Tonight coverage from the moment Kamala Harris entered the 2024 race on July 21 until September 6. What did they find? Well, let’s just say that Harris must have been basking in the media spotlight. Out of 100 campaign stories, 25 positive statements were made about Harris, with zero — yes, zero — negative ones. That leaves Harris with a 100% positive spin score, which is pretty impressive, unless you consider that this level of media adoration might suggest a bit of bias.
Now, let’s look at Donald Trump. The analysts found a grand total of five positive comments about him compared to 66 negative statements. That’s a paltry 7% positive score, with a whopping 93% of the coverage painting him in a negative light. So, while Harris gets showered with praise, Trump seems to be stuck in a never-ending media storm of negativity.
It’s worth noting that MRC’s analysis left out partisan comments and ignored “horse race” assessments like polls. So, while viewers might have heard negative things about Harris, it was all coming from Republicans or Trump’s team, never from ABC’s reporters or so-called “nonpartisan” sources. Apparently, when it comes to Harris, ABC’s journalists couldn’t find anything worth critiquing on their own.
To be fair, ABC wasn’t alone in this lovefest. CBS and NBC also rolled out the red carpet for Harris, though not quite to the same extreme. CBS gave Harris a 94% positive spin, and NBC was a bit more balanced with 71% positive coverage. Still, Harris seemed to have a pretty cushy ride on all three networks. Trump, on the other hand, got the usual rough treatment, with 77% negative coverage on CBS and 86% negative on NBC. Sure, those numbers are bad, but nothing compared to ABC’s 93% Trump-bashing spree.
Interestingly, while CBS and NBC at least acknowledged Harris’s liberal and progressive credentials early in her campaign, ABC apparently decided to keep those labels off-limits. Not once did ABC’s correspondents call Harris “liberal” or “progressive,” instead letting Republicans like Trump do the dirty work of pointing out her political leanings. And when it came to her policies on the economy or the border? Crickets from ABC. But hey, why focus on policy when you can just keep the positivity flowing, right?
