The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, which does excellent non-partisan work, has published its latest report on public opinion. There are a lot of interesting details in there — Bush’s approval rating is down to 36%, a plurality believes the WH lied about Iraq, Bush’s support among Republicans has steadily declined throughout 2005 — but there was one section that warrants additional attention.
For most of Bush’s presidency, Republicans have been largely satisfied by the mainstream media and its coverage of the administration. But as scandals have erupted, and reporters have dropped their post-9/11 deference, all of a sudden Republicans believe the news media is “unfair.”
As Bush’s approval ratings have declined, an increasing number of Americans particularly Republicans express negative opinions of press coverage of the administration. Just half of Americans say the press is being fair to the administration, the lowest number since Bush became president. Similarly, there has been a notable rise over the past two years in the percentage who say the press is too critical of the Bush administration.
Republican perceptions of press coverage of Bush have changed dramatically. Just a quarter of Republicans think news organizations are treating the Bush administration fairly, down from 50% who said the media treated the administration fairly in 2003 and 58% in 2001, shortly after he took office.
So, while most of us have been banging our heads on our desks, wondering why news outlets have been so passive about so many controversies, Republicans have been thrilled. But the moment the media stops being submissive, it’s “unfair.”
It’s rather stunning to see the drop in GOP support. In 2001, Dems, Republicans, and independents all said, by wide margins, that the media was being fair to Bush. By mid-2003, those numbers had not changed considerably for any of the three groups. But now, Republican disappointment with journalism has skyrocketed. The number of Republicans who believe the media is “unfair” to Bush has more than doubled in the last four years.
What’s more, in July 2003, 46% of Republicans said the media was too critical of the White House, while 44% said the coverage was “about right.” Now, 64% of Republicans said it’s too critical, while only 26% said it’s “about right.”
In other words, Republicans are only pleased with news outlets when reporters are acting as stenographers, burying bad news, and ignoring the administration’s scandals. To do otherwise is to be unjust and imbalanced.
Is this really the way rank-and-file Republicans look at the news? No wonder Fox News does so well.