New York, July 18, 2008: Obama faced one of his most difficult weeks yet as his media image lost ground on multiple fronts, including those he has long dominated.

“Obama is still receiving a larger share of positive ratings when the media discuss polls and predictions,” says Roland Schatz, President of Media Tenor International, “but the gap between him and McCain in this regard has significantly narrowed. This changes the tone of the media discussion and is likely to continue, at least in the short term, based on our trend analysis.”

According to Media Tenor’s “Slant-O-Meter” McCain has done more than just narrow the polls and predictions gap. He’s broken out of the deadlock on the Iraq issue and is currently showing a clear advantage there as well as in foreign policy in general.

“McCain has always had a strong advantage on leadership,” notes Schatz. ”Because of his veteran status, this spills over into his Iraq and foreign policy coverage. It’s a difficult area for Obama to gain ground in, especially with all the negative coverage he’s received of his upcoming trip to both Europe and the Middle East.”

Last week Schatz noted that Obama would have to convince the media of the positives of the trip in order to secure his image. “It hasn’t happened yet,” Schatz says, adding that it will become more difficult if McCain continues to step up his attacks on Obama’s trip.

The continuing negative economic news is also still causing problems for both candidates, with both of them jockeying for an advantage.

“Obama did gain a little ground on the economic issues,” Schatz says. “On the other hand, McCain is leading strongly on taxation and may be able to use that to pressure Obama. No one really has the advantage on America’s finances right now, but it remains the issue that could define the course of the election.

Downward trend for Obama expected to continue

With a sharp turn in the tone of coverage for the candidates that has given McCain a significant advantage, it is expected that polling numbers for Obama will continue their recent decline over the next several days.

ABC, NBC and CBS candidate coverage, 6/11 – 7/10/2008: tone of coverage by days

Basis: all statements by or on Obama and McCain on ABC, CBS and NBC evening news programs 6/11 – 7/10/2008 (* very low database)‏

Economy continues to trouble candidates

For now though, the candidates continue to vie for an advantage on economic issues. Neither has been able to gain the media’s approval, with their shares of negative statements continuing to outweigh the positive.

Newsweek, Time, ABC, NBC and CBS News coverage, 6/23 – 7/17/2008: Economic policy

Basis: all statements by or on Obama or McCain in Newsweek, Time, ABC, CBS and NBC evening news programs 6/23 – 7/17/2008

Foreign policy and religion weigh on Obama

Religion continues to be a critical topic for Obama. This week’s cover of The New Yorker attempted satire on the topic and lead to a storm of controversy. Meanwhile Obama faced foreign policy attacks from McCain on his upcoming international trip.

Newsweek, Time, ABC, NBC and CBS News coverage, 6/23 – 7/17/2008: Obama’s top 5 topics

Basis: all statements by or on Obama in Newsweek, Time, ABC, CBS and NBC evening news programs 6/23 – 7/17/2008

To read the full Media Tenor election report in PDF format click here.

For the third time, International Media analysis company Media Tenor is offering a detailed analysis of the U.S. presidential campaign. TV news coverage of the leading Presidential contenders is scrutinized at a detailed level. “The methodology was developed 15 years ago and has been successfully used not only to analyze the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Presidential campaigns, but also for International politics as well,” Schatz explains. Media Tenor’s Presidential Campaign Watch focuses not only on candidate standings, but also on topics and sources, while adding an international perspective. Results of Media Tenor studies will be regularly published on MediaChannel.org.

For further information visit: MediaTenor.com

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