The only topic that the three top evening newscast covered more in 2015 than Donald Trump’s presidential bid was winter weather, according to an analysis of coverage by ABC, NBC and CBS by news analyst Andrew Tyndall.
Those three evening newscasts spent 327 minutes covering Trump and 377 minutes covering winter storms. The news programs covered the San Bernardino shooting for 237 minutes and the Islamic State for a total of 220 minutes.
Last year, they covered the Democratic presidential frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, for just 121 minutes and the Republican presidential debates for 123 minutes, according to the Tyndall Report.
Tyndall said that the evening news programs spent less time covering the economy and foreign policy than in previous years. But the programs did not spend as much time covering the presidential election in 2015 as they did in 2007. According to Tyndall’s analysis, the three networks covered the presidential election for a total of 1,072 minutes in 2007, while they spent 1,031 on the upcoming presidential election in 2015.
H/t Media Matters
