{"id":89748,"date":"2010-11-05T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2010-11-05T05:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2010\/11\/05\/television-tea-party-and-tea-leaves\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:12:16","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:12:16","slug":"television-tea-party-and-tea-leaves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2010\/11\/05\/television-tea-party-and-tea-leaves\/","title":{"rendered":"Television \u2013 Tea Party and Tea Leaves"},"content":{"rendered":"

If the tea parties were not prominent in newspaper headlines, they were front and center in the television coverage that began on Monday evening and went past midnight. A keyword search of election-related terms culled from the coverage on the three commercial broadcast networks (ABC, NBC and CBS) and the three major cable news outlets (CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC) found that the most frequently used term was President Obama. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n

Given the widely accepted thesis that the election was in part a referendum on his tenure, Obama was the most prominently mentioned subject in the television commentary, generating 473 mentions, according to PEJ\u2019s capture of coverage. <\/p>\n\n

But closely behind him, at 364 mentions, was another crucial factor that, according to many on-air commentators, seems to have emerged as a serious force in the American political landscape\u2014the tea parties. The economy and jobs were third (312). Health care was fourth, but it followed significantly behind as an issue of discussion on television (144). <\/p>\n\n

[election]<\/p>\n\n\n

On ABC, commentator George Will called the tea party \u201ctraditional conservatives with\u2026the social issues stripped away\u2026who trace their lineage back to Barry Goldwater,\u201d adding that \u201cit\u2019s going to be the Republican Party playing catch up\u201d to tea party principles. <\/p>\n\n

While the broadcast networks tend to be somewhat more circumspect than their cable siblings,\u00a0 the election night TV commentary switched gears from reporting the actual results (and accompanying exit poll data) to trying to interpret them and project their meaning. <\/p>\n\n

On CBS\u2019s coverage, anchor Katie Couric wondered about the future of the recently passed health care reform legislation given the makeup of a new Congress. <\/p>\n\n

[Obama]<\/p>\n\n\n

One of the most discussed figures on election night was House Minority Leader John Boehner (129 mentions), widely expected to be the new Speaker. And a good deal of the focus was on his leadership style and priorities. NBC Washington bureau chief Mark Whitaker offered that while \u201cNewt Gingrich came on talking about a revolution\u201d after the Republican victory in the 1994 midterms,\u00a0 \u201cJohn Boehner is not going to make that kind of mistake. He\u2019s going to go to work very quietly,\u201d and will likely face \u201ca lot of pressure in his caucus\u201d to cut spending and repeal health care reform. <\/p>\n\n

Another prominent subject of the commentary was former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (61 mentions), who campaigned for a number of victorious Republican candidates (as well as some losers) and who is already the subject of considerable speculation about her 2012 plans. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never too early to start looking at 2012,\u201d declared CNN\u2019s Wolf Blitzer as correspondent Ali Velshi rolled out exit poll numbers that showed, among other things, Palin narrowly leading the GOP field in a prospective 2012 South Carolina presidential primary. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhen you look at some of these Palin wins\u2026\u201d Velshi added, in discussing her endorsements of successful candidates, \u201csome of this may actually come back to help her in 2012.\u201d <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If the tea parties were not prominent in newspaper headlines, they were front and center in the television coverage that began on Monday evening and went past midnight. A keyword search of election-related terms culled from the coverage on the three commercial broadcast networks (ABC, NBC and CBS) and the three major cable news outlets 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