Presidential news includes the many ways that presidents provide information to reporters, including on-the-record press conferences, off-the-record meetings with reporters, deliberate leaks of information, and the use of the White House web site to address questions from reporters. Different presidents combine these avenues of communication in different ways. The following graph illustrates how a number of Presidents have used these communications tools since the Kennedy administration.
Historically, presidential news has had several key themes: 1) horserace stories (whether they focus on one candidate or both); 2) policy differences that a candidate presents; and 3) leadership and other qualities that distinguish the candidate from the opposition. The 2020 election has seen all of these themes in play, although the prominence of the horserace and the negative tone of most of the partisan media coverage have been much more prominent than in previous elections.
In the first half of the 2024 campaign, most Americans continue to report that they are following news about the candidates and their campaigns very or fairly closely. However, a significant share (58%) also say they have seen inaccurate election news that is intended to mislead or confuse.
During the general election, CBS and Fox offered very different visions of the American political system. CBS’s Trump-centric reporting aligned with the pattern expected from a mainstream news outlet, while Fox’s coverage fit the typical profile of a partisan news outlet. Across the general election, CBS’s horserace reports with a clear tone were 92 percent negative and only 8 percent positive. By contrast, Fox’s horserace reports with a clear negative tone were 57 percent negative and 43 percent positive.
About the Author
