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Good Question: Is Fair Political Coverage The Law?

(WCCO) It's hard to miss the extensive news coverage of Presidential candidate Barack Obama's visit to Iraq and Afghanistan. Three network anchors and an army of journalists are all following Senator Obama. That didn't happen when Sen. John McCain visited Iraq. How is that fair? And doesn't the media have an obligation to give equal time?

All network evening newscasts devoted significant time to the Obama visit on Monday night. It'll only continue during the week, with Obama doing an interview with CBS News anchor Katie Couric on Tuesday, ABC's Charles Gibson on Wednesday and NBC's Brian Williams on Thursday. Then he'll be on "Meet the Press" Sunday. Apparently he's available on Friday and Saturday for "exclusive" interviews.

When asked by ABC's Diane Sawyer in a live interview on "Good Morning America" if he thought the press coverage of Obama was fair, McCain replied, "We'll let the voters decide. It is what it is."

"You can't be fair," said Jane Kirtly, Silha Professor of Media Ethics at the University of Minnesota. "Because what you're trying to do is report the news."

But according to a newly released Rassmussen Poll, voters don't buy that. Forty-nine percent of those polled said they believe the press wants to help Obama win the election. Barely a quarter of those polled said they thought the press was unbiased.

"Is it the liberal media?" asked WCCO reporter Jason DeRusha.

"I don't it's the liberal media," said Kirtley. "I think it's the fact that the media loves change, they love anti-establishment, they love people that are suggesting that they're going to do something new and novel, and Barack Obama is all of those things."

The Tyndall Report tracks network evening news coverage by time spent on topics. According to Andrew Tyndall, since the start of the general election campaign, the network evening newscasts have spent 114 minutes on Obama. McCain got less than half that.

And that doesn't include the orgy of coverage from Monday night.

The phenomenon is not new. A 2006 Time magazine cover with Obama was the second best-selling of the year. Newsweek has done six covers with Obama over the past year, two with McCain. A Rolling Stone cover had Obama looking angelic.

"There is no government mandate for equal treatment," explained Kirtley. "We don't have a Fairness Doctrine anymore that demands that the news media, as a matter of law, provide equal coverage for each candidate."

The Fairness Doctrine was a Federal Communications Commission policy requiring over-the-air television stations to cover controversial issues affecting the community, and air opposing viewpoints. It did not require equal time, but the intent was to require both sides to be heard.

After several constitutional challenges, the Fairness Doctrine was repealed in 1987. There have been several proposals to bring the Fairness Doctrine back, but none have succeeded.

Kirtley said she feels it's noteworthy that most news organizations try to give balanced coverage, despite the lack of a law requiring it. She also said there are some Obama supporters who believe McCain is getting a free ride from reporters.

"Nobody's ever gonna be convinced that their particular candidate is being treated fairly," said Kirtley.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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