Media coverage of US Presidential candidates

Khairul Islam :
America’s upcoming presidential election, scheduled to be held on November 8, 2016, has already become a major topic for discussion in and outside the country. From the Coffee House’s gossips to political debates are now centering the United States’ general election. Everyone has one question and curiosity. Who is the America’s 58th president and the most influential leader of the world for next five years? Which political party is favorite in next election?
No doubt, to get answers to all these questions, people always depend on the mass media. In public affairs like election media plays a very pivotal role. In fact, media mainly helps in developing interest among the people. In most cases, the mass media shapes the public opinion making someone as an action hero or characterizing some other as the hate villain. Question is how the America’s media responsibly covering news of such important public event? Do the media treats all the major political parties and their presidential candidates equally? What the people expect from this important instrument of the nation?
A recent study conducted by Media Research Center, America’s media watchdog, revealed the unexpected truth about the media coverage centering the next presidential election. According to the report, the US media significantly favors Democratic Party’s candidate Hillary Clinton. “Frontrunner Hillary Clinton has garnered 80% of the Democratic airtime since January 1,” the MRC study said. “Her closest announced rival, the socialist Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, has received just 6% of the airtime, or about 24 minutes vs. 337 minutes for Clinton,” the study added.
However, the majority of Clinton stories, 54%, focused on scandals from her past, while just 57 seconds of Biden’s coverage, which is less than 2%, has focused on his controversies from his early life. So, media not only promotes some political party candidates, but also frustrates other political rivals by damaging or avoiding their reputation. So, it is clear that in term of news coverage, the country’s media is actively biased toward some particular political parties.
 There are three possible main causes behind such biased media coverage. First, political ideology of the mainstream media. When some major media give wide coverage for a particular candidate, than rest of the media seemingly been forced do so whether because of the public support that Already been generated by mainstream media or to follow the majority. Secondly, popularity of a particular candidate. Sometimes, media gives importance on popularity of particular candidates while the media directly deals with the general public.
The third factor is respect for the common mass and their opinion(s). So they have to respect the opinion of their audience.