There is little change in those numbers since July. More Americans than at comparable times in recent presidential elections report they are tired of campaign coverage. In fact, leading newspapers have dedicated considerably more space to the campaign this year than in the same periods in either 1995 or 1991, according to a special content analysis conducted for this report. But the Tyndall Weekly Report, which measures air time on the three nightly network newscasts, says there have been fewer minutes devoted to the presidential campaign by television network news in the first eight months of 1999 than the same time period in 1995. The public complains that the media as well as big contributors are too influential in presidential campaigns.
People are also critical of the media's scrutiny of political candidates.
Furthermore, Americans say that news editors care more about the opinions of politicians and political insiders than their audiences when deciding which stories to cover during an election. Not surprisingly, few Americans have a positive opinion of the news coverage of the Democratic or Republican campaigns, so far. Less than half rate news about these races as excellent or good. Republicans and Democrats are equally critical in this regard. Despite the drought and high heat throughout much of the East Coast in the latter portion of the summer, public concern over global warming has increased only slightly from 1997.