CAMPAIGN COVERAGE Study finds networks focus more on issues

All of the networks have regular segments devoted to the presidential election.
NEW YORK (AP) -- In an about-face from four years ago, network evening news programs are concentrating more on substantive presidential campaign issues than the horse race, a think tank reported.
Less than a quarter of the ABC, CBS and NBC evening news stories in September dealt exclusively with political strategies and the polls. In 2000, 62 percent of the stories were about tactics and the contest, said the Center for Media and Public Affairs.
"It's a very serious election," Robert Lichter, the group's president, said this week. "The seriousness of the international situation is reflected in the news coverage."
Continuing segments
The evening news programs have introduced continuing segments designed for issue-driven coverage.
"CBS Evening News" has a regular feature ("What Does it Mean to You?") that looks at individual issues. On Monday, it was about how President Bush and John Kerry would deal to changes in overtime rules.
The top-rated NBC "Nightly News" has assigned Brian Williams and Lisa Myers to "The Truth Squad," which analyzes campaign claims for accuracy and context.
Two other recurring NBC features include "The Message," which lets candidates explain issues in their own words, and "Assignment America," on which topics are hot in battleground states.
The change is a reflection of the world after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said Jon Banner, executive producer of ABC's "World News Tonight."
"I don't find it surprising and it's completely warranted," said Banner, whose broadcast has been fact-checking candidate claims and outlining where they stand on issues.
More stories
Lichter's group, in a study it's releasing at the National Press Club on Tuesday, said there were 199 campaign stories on the three evening news programs in September. That's a marked increase from the 141 during the same period in 2000.
The study also evaluates the programs for stories that provide a more positive or negative look at the individual candidates, an admittedly subjective exercise.
There was one interesting finding: the network that appeared to have the most evenhanded approach was CBS. CBS and anchorman Dan Rather spent much of September under fire from Republicans for a botched "60 Minutes" story criticizing Bush's service in the National Guard.