Pew: Coverage of Presidential Candidates Equally Negative

The ones that are covered, at least!

The news media's portrayal of the leading presidential candidates has been overwhelmingly negative during the 2012 campaign, with President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney coming in for about equal numbers of unflattering reports about their character, an extensive new study concludes.

The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism says campaign coverage has rivaled that of 2004 in its negativity. The center began tracking media "narratives" about the candidates in 2000.