Authors' Response: Improving News Coverage in the 2012 Presidential Campaign and Beyond

Recently, Politics & Policy published an article presenting our findings that reveal President Barack Obama received something of a media honeymoon in The New York Times, a sharp contrast from that influential newspaper's first‐year coverage of Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush. Our findings triggered a thoughtful column concerning political coverage by the Times’ public editor, Arthur S. Brisbane, which in turn led to extensive online discussions of media bias. In the interest of continuing this discussion and encouraging more substantive, even‐handed, and informative news in the ongoing presidential campaign, this short response offers suggestions about what we regard as the two key problems of contemporary journalism: that the media are too focused on the sports of politics (“the horse‐race”) at the expense of issue‐based coverage, and that media outlets sometimes play favorites in the tone of coverage. Related Articles Farnsworth, Stephen J., and S. Robert Lichter. 2012. “News Coverage of New Presidents in The New York Times, 1981‐2009.” Politics & Policy 40 (1): 69‐91. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2011.00338.x/ Jones, David A., Kathleen Ferraiolo, and Jennifer Byrne. 2011. “Selective Media Exposure and Partisan Differences about Sarah Palin's Candidacy.” Politics & Policy 39 (2): 195‐221. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2011.00288.x/ Mena‐Aleman, David. 2006. “Can the BBC Compete to Deliver ‘More than Just What Consumers Want'?” Politics & Policy 36 (1): 196‐215. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2006.00009.x/ Related Media Brisbane, Arthur S. 2012. “A Hard Look at the President.” The New York Times (April 21). http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/a‐hard‐look‐at‐the‐president.html?_r=2 Tranto, James. 2012. “The 2012 Dogfight.” The Wall Street Journal (April 23). http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303459004577362020492037752.html Hudson, John. 2012. “The New York Times Is Obama's Safe Haven.” The Atlantic Wire (April 23). http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2012/04/new‐york‐times‐obamas‐safe‐haven/51461/ Beaujon, Andrew. 2012. “Obama Did in Fact Enjoy a ‘Media Honeymoon’ with New York Times, Says Study.” Poynter (March 7). http://www.poynter.org/latest‐news/mediawire/165736/obama‐did‐in‐fact‐enjoy‐a‐media‐honeymoon‐with‐new‐york‐times‐says‐study/ Recientemente, Politics & Policy publicó un artículo presentando resultados nuestros que revelan que el presid