---
"title": "Final Topline"
"description": "SELECTED RESULTS Clinton Stories N=566 Bush Stories N=333 1. SOURCE   CLINTON STORIES(#) BUSH STORIES(#) ALL PRINT 373     222       ALL NEWSPAPERS   324     202       Washington Post     182     100     New York Times     142     102   ALL […]"
"date": "2001-04-30"
"authors":
  -
    "name": "Benjamin Wormald"
"url": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/journalism/2001/04/30/final-topline-2/"
---

# Final Topline

SELECTED RESULTS

| **Clinton Stories** | **N=566** |
| --- | --- |
| **Bush Stories** | **N=333** |

| **1\. SOURCE** |
| --- |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES<br>(\#)** | **BUSH STORIES<br>(\#)** |
| **ALL PRINT** | 373 |  |  | 222 |  |  |
|  | ALL NEWSPAPERS |  | 324 |  |  | 202 |  |
|  |  | Washington Post |  |  | 182 |  |  | 100 |
|  |  | New York Times |  |  | 142 |  |  | 102 |
|  | ALL NEWSWEEK |  | 49 |  |  | 20 |  |
|  | ALL BROADCAST |  | 193 |  |  | 111 |  |
|  |  | ABC World News |  |  | 56 |  |  | 24 |
|  |  | CBS Evening News |  |  | 64 |  |  | 26 |
|  |  | NBC Nightly News |  |  | 38 |  |  | 23 |
|  |  | PBS Newshour |  |  | 35 |  |  | 38 |
| **2\. DATE** |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES<br>(%)** | **BUSH STORIES<br>(%)** |
|  | Clinton First Half | 57 | – |
|  | Clinton Second Half | 43 | – |
|  |  | **100** |  |
|  | Bush First Half | – | 57 |
|  | Bush Second Half | – | 43 |
|  |  |  | **100** |
| **3\. PLACEMENT (Newspapers only)** |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES<br>(%)** | **BUSH STORIES<br>(%)** |
|  | Front page | 34 | 34 |
|  | Front business/financial page | 13 | 3 |
|  | Front page/ inside sections | 4 | 5 |
|  | Sunday Review/Outlook | 7 | 5 |
|  | Editorial | 23 | 23 |
|  | Op/Ed | 19 | 30 |
|  | Newspaper/Other | – | – |
|  |  | 100 | 100 |
| **4\. TOPIC** |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES<br>(%)** | **BUSH STORIES<br>(%)** |
| **ALL POLICY ISSUES** | 71 |  |  | 74 |  |  |
|  | All Domestic Issues |  | 51 |  |  | 56 |  |
|  |  | *Budget Issues Only* |  |  | *25* |  |  | *27* |
|  | All Foreign/Defense Issues |  | 20 |  |  | 18 |  |
| **ALL PROFILE/CHARACTER ISSUES** | 26 |  |  | 22 |  |  |
| **OTHER** | 3 |  |  | 4 |  |  |
|  |  | Abortion/Family planning | 1 |  |  | 2 |  |  |
|  |  | Agriculture | – |  |  | – |  |  |
|  |  | Budget/Taxes | 25 |  |  | 27 |  |  |
|  |  | Business/Economy (non-budget) | 6 |  |  | 2 |  |  |
|  |  | Campaign Finance | 1 |  |  | 2 |  |  |
|  |  | Civil rights/liberties | \* |  |  | – |  |  |
|  |  | Crime incidents or trends | – |  |  | – |  |  |
|  |  | Crime/Gun policy | \* |  |  | \* |  |  |
|  |  | Culture/Arts | – |  |  | \* |  |  |
|  |  | Defense–US | 2 |  |  | 3 |  |  |
|  |  | Disasters | – |  |  | \* |  |  |
|  |  | Education | \* |  |  | 6 |  |  |
|  |  | Election Process | – |  |  | 2 |  |  |
|  |  | Environment | \* |  |  | 6 |  |  |
|  |  | Foreign policy & US Intervention | 16 |  |  | 14 |  |  |
|  |  | Foreign Trade | 3 |  |  | 1 |  |  |
|  |  | Gays in the Military | 7 |  |  | – |  |  |
|  |  | Health Care/The elderly | 5 |  |  | 2 |  |  |
|  |  | Immigration | \* |  |  | \* |  |  |
|  |  | Labor | 2 |  |  | 2 |  |  |
|  |  | Poverty | 1 |  |  | – |  |  |
|  |  | Religion | – |  |  | 5 |  |  |
|  |  | Science/Technology | 1 |  |  | – |  |  |
|  |  | Women’s Rights | 1 |  |  | – |  |  |
|  |
|  |  | Personal profile/character | 4 |  |  | 4 |  |  |
|  |  | Presidential appts./nom.-official | 7 |  |  | 3 |  |  |
|  |  | Political skills/management | 11 |  |  | 11 |  |  |
|  |  | Political philosopy/ideology | 4 |  |  | 4 |  |  |
|  |  | Other | 3 |  |  | 4 |  |  |
|  |  |  | **100** |  |  | **100** |  |  |
| **5\. FRAME** |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES<br>(%)** | **BUSH STORIES<br>(%)** |
|  |  | Calendar/Process |  | 3 |  |  | 3 |  |
|  |  | Future Implication (longterm) |  | 1 |  |  | – |  |
|  |  | Historical Outlook/Trend |  | 5 |  |  | 3 |  |
|  |  | Battleground |  | 11 |  |  | 14 |  |
|  |  | Performance |  | 13 |  |  | 13 |  |
|  |  | Policy explored/explained |  | 35 |  |  | 48 |  |
|  |  | Official Reaction/Response |  | 3 |  |  | \* |  |
|  |  | Reality Check |  | 5 |  |  | 2 |  |
|  |  | Tactics & Strategy |  | 22 |  |  | 14 |  |
|  |  | Wrongdoing exposed |  | \* |  |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Other |  | 2 |  |  | 2 |  |
| **6\. POLITICAL ARENA** |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES<br>(%)** | **BUSH STORIES<br>(%)** |
| President and: |  |  |
|  |  | Cabinet/Advisors/VP |  | 10 |  |  | 5 |  |
|  |  | Federal Employees/Agencies |  | 3 |  |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Congress |  | 14 |  |  | 25 |  |
|  |  | Courts |  | 1 |  |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | State Officials/Gov’t |  | 1 |  |  | 2 |  |
|  |  | Military rank & file |  | 2 |  |  | 2 |  |
|  |  | Foreign Leaders/affairs/markets |  | 16 |  |  | 16 |  |
|  |  | Business/Financial Markets |  | 9 |  |  | 3 |  |
|  |  | Interest Groups (organized) |  | 4 |  |  | 7 |  |
|  |  | Citizens/Subgroups (not formally organized) |  | 16 |  |  | 8 |  |
|  |  | The Media |  | 1 |  |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Family & Friends |  | 2 |  |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Office of the President |  | 20 |  |  | 27 |  |
|  |  | Other |  | 20 |  |  | 27 |  |
|  |  |  |  | **100** |  |  | **100** |  |
| **7\. UNDERLYING THEME** |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES<br>(%)** | **BUSH STORIES<br>(%)** |
|  |  | Leadership Ability/Skills |  | 37 |  |  | 31 |  |
|  |  | Core Ideology/Agenda |  | 58 |  |  | 65 |  |
|  |  | Character/Personality/Temperament/Honesty |  | 5 |  |  | 4 |  |
|  |  |  |  | **100** |  |  | **100** |  |
| **8\. TONE OF THEME** |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES<br>(%)** | **BUSH STORIES<br>(%)** |
|  |  | Positive |  | 27 |  |  | 22 |  |
|  |  | Neutral |  | 44 |  |  | 49 |  |
|  |  | Negative |  | 28 |  |  | 28 |  |
|  |  | Satire |  | 1 |  |  | 1 |  |
|  |  |  |  | **100** |  |  | **100** |  |
| **9\. BIG STORY** |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES<br>(%)** |  |
| **CLINTON-1993** |  |  |  |
|  |  | Inauguration ’93 |  | 3 |  |
|  |  | Budget Speech to Cong |  | 2 |  |
|  |  | Budget Plan Assessment/Explanation |  | 12 |  |
|  |  | Budget Plan Passage (re. Congress or Citizen) |  | 11 |  |
|  |  | Energy Tax |  | 2 |  |
|  |  | Reducing/ “Reinventing” Gov’t |  | 2 |  |
|  |  | Jobs Program |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Industrial/Tech. Policy |  | 2 |  |
|  |  | Base Closings |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Abortion |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Health Care Plan |  | 3 |  |
|  |  | Health Care Task Force |  | 2 |  |
|  |  | Gays in the Military |  | 7 |  |
|  |  | Welfare Reform |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Bosnia Intervention |  | 7 |  |
|  |  | Iraq Intervention |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Russian Aid |  | 3 |  |
|  |  | Free Trade |  | 3 |  |
|  |  | Attorney General nominations |  | 6 |  |
|  |  | FBI Director W. Sessions removal |  | \* |  |
|  |  | Justice White/Supreme Ct. nomination |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Not a Big Story |  | 29 |  |
|  |  |  |  | **100** |  |
|  |  | **BUSH STORIES<br>(%)** |
| **BUSH-2001** |  |  |  |
|  |  | 2000 Election Controversy |  | 2 |  |
|  |  | Inauguration |  | 4 |  |
|  |  | Budget assessment |  | 10 |  |
|  |  | Budget Passage |  | 11 |  |
|  |  | Budget Speech to Congress |  | 4 |  |
|  |  | Estate Tax Specific |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Defense Review |  | 3 |  |
|  |  | Abortion |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | California Power Crisis |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Education Plan |  | 6 |  |
|  |  | Energy Crisis |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Environmental Policy/Global Warming |  | 3 |  |
|  |  | Faith Based Initiative |  | 6 |  |
|  |  | Hanssen Spy Capture |  | – |  |
|  |  | Patient’s Bill of Rights |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Blair meeting |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Iraq Intervention |  | 4 |  |
|  |  | Israel/Middle East Policy |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Mexico Policy & Meeting w/ Fox |  | 2 |  |
|  |  | USS Greeneville Fishing Trawler |  | \* |  |
|  |  | Bush Reaching Out/Crossing Lines |  | 3 |  |
|  |  | Role of Bush Cabinet/Advisors |  | 2 |  |
|  |  | Ashcroft Nomination |  | 2 |  |
|  |  | Clinton Scandals |  | 1 |  |
|  |  | Not A Big Story |  | 30 |  |

ADDITIONAL COMPARATIVE RESULTS

| **TOPIC** |
| --- |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES (%)** | **BUSH STORIES (%)** |
|  | **All Newspapers** | **All Newsweek** | **All Television** | **All Newspapers** | **All Newsweek** | **All Television** |
| ALL POLICY ISSUES | 71 | 67 | 71 | 69 | 80 | 82 |
|  | *All Domestic Issues* | *49* | *47* | *55* | *48* | *65* | *69* |
|  | *All Domestic Issues* | *22* | *20* | *16* | *21* | *15* | *13* |
| PROFILE/CHARACTER ISSUES | 25 | 33 | 25 | 26 | 15 | 16 |
| OTHER | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
|  | **100** | **100** | **100** | **100** | **100** | **100** |
| **FRAME** |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES (%)** | **BUSH STORIES (%)** |
|  | **All Newspapers** | **All Newsweek** | **All Television** | **All Newspapers** | **All Newsweek** | **All Television** |
| Calendar/Process | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Future Implication (longterm) | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Historical Outlook/Trend | 6 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 5 | – |
| Battleground/Conflict | 10 | 12 | 13 | 7 | 15 | 25 |
| Performance | 13 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 9 |
| Policy explored/explained | 38 | 19 | 35 | 51 | 50 | 42 |
| Official Reaction/Response | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | – | 1 |
| Reality Check | 5 | 10 | 4 | 2 | – | 3 |
| Tactics & Strategy | 21 | 29 | 21 | 13 | 15 | 16 |
| Wrongdoing exposed | – | – | 2 | – | – | 2 |
| Other | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | – | 1 |
|  | **100** | **100** | **100** | **100** | **100** | **100** |
| **POLITICAL ARENA** |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES (%)** | **BUSH STORIES (%)** |
|  | **All Newspapers** | **All Newsweek** | **All Television** | **All Newspapers** | **All Newsweek** | **All Television** |
| President and: |
|  | Cabinet/Advisors/VP | 12 | 12 | 8 | 8 | – | 2 |
|  | Federal Employees/Agencies | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | – | 2 |
|  | Congress | 15 | 6 | 17 | 17 | 30 | 39 |
|  | Courts | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | – | – |
|  | State Officials/Gov’t | 1 | – | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
|  | Military rank & file | 1 | – | 3 | 2 | – | 2 |
|  | Foreign affairs/markets | 17 | 19 | 13 | 20 | 15 | 11 |
|  | Business/Financial Markets | 12 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
|  | Interest Groups (organized) | 4 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 25 | 8 |
|  | Citizens/Subgroups (not formally organized) | 12 | 12 | 23 | 7 | – | 12 |
|  | The Media | 1 | 4 | – | 1 | – | – |
|  | Family & Friends | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | – | – |
|  | Office of the President | 19 | 29 | 18 | 32 | 20 | 18 |
|  | Other | 2 | 2 | – | 1 | – | – |
| **UNDERLYING THEME** |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES (%)** | **BUSH STORIES (%)** |
|  | **All Newspapers** | **All Newsweek** | **All Television** | **All Newspapers** | **All Newsweek** | **All Television** |
|  | Leadership Ability/Skills | 34 | 51 | 39 | 32 | 15 | 31 |
|  | Core Ideology/Agenda | 60 | 47 | 58 | 63 | 80 | 67 |
|  | Character/Personality | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
|  |  | **100** | **100** | **100** | **100** | **100** | **100** |
| **TONE OF THEME** |
|  | **CLINTON STORIES (%)** | **BUSH STORIES (%)** |
|  | **All Newspapers** | **All Newsweek** | **All Television** | **All Newspapers** | **All Newsweek** | **All Television** |
|  | Positive | 30 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 30 | 22 |
|  | Neutral | 42 | 39 | 48 | 43 | 35 | 62 |
|  | Negative | 26 | 39 | 30 | 34 | 35 | 16 |
|  | Satire | 2 | – | – | 1 | – | – |
|  |  | **100** | **100** | **100** | **100** | **100** | **100** |