MRC: Mainstream networks blast GOP state election laws, largely ignore sweeping Democrat-backed elections bill
According to the Media Research Center, 96% of the coverage focused on the Republican-backed legislation was negative
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An analysis by the conservative Media Research Center found that networks ABC, CBS and NBC largely ignored coverage of the sweeping Democrat-backed For the People Act, while blasting Republican-backed state election laws aimed at ensuring election integrity.
The analysis was conducted March 1 through June 10 and found the networks' nightly news coverage dedicated nearly 52 minutes of airtime to the Republican-backed state election laws, but dedicated a paltry 2 minutes and 40 seconds to the For the People Act.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The For the People Act passed the House of Representatives in March and has been the subject of contentious debate in the Senate. Democrats claim the bill strengthens voting rights across the country, but Republicans argue that it federalizes control over elections and diminishes that power at the state level.
Republicans in a number of state legislatures have proposed or passed their own bills aimed at ensuring election integrity, with many of them including popular provisions on requiring identification to vote. Democrats, including President Biden, have likened them, without evidence, to Jim Crow era laws that increased voter suppression among minority communities.
"On ABC, CBS and NBC, our study found that the coverage was relentlessly — almost unanimously — negative," the analysis said. "Taking into account statements from reporters, anchors, and non-aligned sources (such as soundbites from voters and experts), but excluding identified Democrats and Republicans, we found just three positive statements about the Republican-sponsored laws, vs. 75 negative statements."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DEMOCRATS' ELECTIONS BILL RAISES MAJOR FREE SPEECH CONCERNS, EXPERTS WARN
According to the analysis, the studied statements translated to 96% negative coverage of the Republican-backed legislation.
"The evening newscasts routinely told viewers that the newly-passed Republican laws are ‘restrictive,’ even though none of the new rules would preclude any eligible voter from voting," the analysis said. "Instead, via early voting, absentee voting and voting on Election Day, citizens have multiple opportunities to exercise their franchise."
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The analysis also found that while the networks provided no criticisms of the Democrat's comparison's between the voter laws and Jim Crow era laws, they also failed to report on Republican criticisms of the For the People Act. This continued following Sen. Joe Manchin's, D-W.Va., announced opposition to the bill, with no time allotted to his rejection of it.