News coverage of Trump and Harris greatly favors vice president while 85% trashes Trump: Study

The analysts reviewed more than 600 segments starting from the day President Joe Biden dropped from the race, and concluding on Oct. 25.

By Misty Severi

Published: October 28, 2024 10:13pm

A new study on Monday found that a review of ABC, CBS, and NBC News coverage of the 2024 presidential election greatly favor Vice President Kamala Harris, with more than two-thirds being positive, while 85% of coverage of former President Donald Trump is negative.

The research from the Media Research Center (MRC) found that evening news coverage of the election has been "the most lopsided in history." Analysts reviewed more than 600 segments starting from the day President Joe Biden dropped from the race, and concluding on Oct. 25.

During a four-month period, 78% of the coverage of Harris was positive, while 85% of Trump was negative, according to analysts.

"The difference in coverage between the two candidates is far greater than in 2016, when both Trump and then-challenger Hillary Clinton received mostly negative coverage (91% negative for Trump, vs. 79% negative for Clinton,)" the analysts wrote. "It’s [also] greater than in 2020, when Joe Biden was treated to 66 percent positive coverage, vs. 92 percent negative for Trump."

The analysts noted that the coverage of Trump mostly focused on controversies and criticism regarding the former president. But when controversies surrounding the vice president or her family surfaced, such as plagiarism allegations, the coverage was light or non-existent.

"Instead, Harris’s coverage has been larded with enthusiastic quotes from pro-Harris voters, creating a positive 'vibe' for the Democrat even as network reporters criticize Trump themselves," the study said.

There was also a change in tactic on covering Harris after she became the official Democratic presidential nominee. From July through the beginning of Sept. the vice president was given "rock-star coverage." But after the Sept. 10 debate, "the networks shifted attention away from Harris, spending significantly more airtime targeting Trump."

Although the MRC study looked at NBC, ABC, and CBS, it did not include data from CNN or Fox News.

The report also comes after a Gallup poll earlier this month found that the news media is the least trusted profession, and was even trusted less than Congress.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.