On the first two Sundays following the November 4 elections, in which a Democrat took the White House and the party added to its majority in both the House and Senate, viewers of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday and CBS' Face the Nation saw post-election analysis dominated by conservatives and Republicans. A Media Matters for America analysis found that the guest and panelist lineups on those two shows, post-election, were consistent with their guest and panelist lineups in the first six weeks after the November 2004 elections -- conservatives and Republicans appeared in greater numbers on Face the Nation and Fox News Sunday in the weeks immediately after both presidential elections, despite dramatically different results in 2004 and 2008.
The November 9 and 16, 2008, editions of Face the Nation included a total of four Republicans or conservatives (three guests and one panelist) compared with two Democrats or progressives (both guests). Likewise, the November 7 and 14, 2004, editions of Face the Nation featured a total of four Republicans or conservatives (all guests), while featuring just one Democrat or progressive (a guest). During the first six weeks of Face the Nation following the 2004 election, seven Republicans or conservatives (six guests, one panelist) and three Democrats or progressives (all guests) appeared.
The November 9 and 16, 2008, editions of Fox News Sunday featured more than double the number of Republicans or conservatives as Democrats or progressives, with a total of nine (five guests and four panelists) Republicans or conservatives, compared with four Democrats or progressives (two guests, two panelists). That is similar to the November 7 and 14, 2004, editions of Fox News Sunday, which featured a total of seven Republicans or conservatives (three guests, four panelists) and three Democrats or progressives (one guest, two panelists). The more-than-2-to-1 ratio held through the first six weeks of Fox News Sunday following the 2004 election, during which 22 Republicans or conservatives (10 guests, 12 panelists) and 10 Democrats or progressives (six guests, four panelists) appeared.
Face the Nation
|
First two weeks after Election Day 2008
|
Guests
|
3 Republicans/conservatives, 2 Democrats/progressives
|
|
Panelists
|
1 R/C, 1 Neutral
|
|
Total
|
4 R/C, 2 D/P, 1 N
|
|
First two weeks after Election Day 2004
|
Guests
|
4 R/C, 1 D/P, 1 N
|
|
Panelists
|
none
|
|
Total
|
4 R/C, 1 D/P, 1 N
|
|
First six weeks after Election Day 2004
|
Guests
|
6 R/C, 3 D/P, 6 N
|
|
Panelists
|
1 R/C, 4 N
|
|
Total
|
7 R/C, 3 D/P, 10 N
|
Fox News Sunday
|
First two weeks after Election Day 2008
|
Guests
|
5 R/C, 2 D/P
|
|
Panelists
|
4 R/C, 2 D/P, 2 N
|
|
Total
|
9 R/C, 4 D/P, 2 N
|
|
First two weeks after Election Day 2004
|
Guests
|
3 R/C, 1 D/P
|
|
Panelists
|
4 R/C, 2 D/P, 2 N
|
|
Total
|
7 R/C, 3 D/P, 2 N
|
|
First six weeks after Election Day 2004
|
Guests
|
10 R/C, 6 D/P
|
|
Panelists
|
12 R/C, 4 D/P, 8 N
|
|
Total
|
22 R/C, 10 D/P, 8 N
|
Media Matters has documented the conservative skew of guests and panelists on Face the Nation, ABC's This Week, and NBC's Meet the Press from 1997 to 2005, and for This Week, Face the Nation, Fox News Sunday, and Meet the Press in 2005 and 2006.
To view a chart detailing Media Matters' coding of guests and panelists on the November 7, 2004, November 14, 2004, November 21, 2004, November 28, 2004, December 5, 2004, December 12, 2004, November 9, 2008, and November 16, 2008, editions of Face the Nation, Fox News Sunday, This Week, and Meet the Press, click here.
