Clinton’s Press Judged as Less Fair than Bush’s and Reagan’s

REPORT SUMMARY

Many Americans think the press is being unfair to Bill Clinton, and the public most often complains that the media has come to an earlier judgment about this President’s performance than it did about his predecessors.

But the public does not blame the press for being too critical of Bill Clinton, nor for causing his slide in the polls.  Most think that the President is less popular because he has done a poor job, not because the press has picked on him.

These are the latest findings of a nationwide Times Mirror Center survey (of 1,006 Americans conducted June 11-15) that found more Americans believe the media is unfair to Bill Clinton than thought it was unfair to George bush and Ronald Reagan during some of the most difficult times of their administrations.