---
title: "Final Topline"
description: "SELECTED RESULTS Clinton Stories N=566 Bush Stories N=333 1. SOURCE   CLINTON STORIES(#) BUSH STORIES(#) ALL PRINT 373     222       ALL NEWSPAPERS   324     202       Washington Post     182     100     New York Times     142     102   ALL […]"
date: "2001-04-30"
authors:
  - name: "Benjamin Wormald"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2001/04/30/final-topline-2/"
---

# Final Topline

SELECTED RESULTS

********
| Clinton Stories | N=566 |
********
| Bush Stories | N=333 |

****
| 1. SOURCE |
**
****
**
|   | CLINTON STORIES(#) | BUSH STORIES(#) |
****
| ALL PRINT | 373 |   |   | 222 |   |   |

|   | ALL NEWSPAPERS |   | 324 |   |   | 202 |   |

|   |   | Washington Post |   |   | 182 |   |   | 100 |

|   |   | New York Times |   |   | 142 |   |   | 102 |

|   | ALL NEWSWEEK |   | 49 |   |   | 20 |   |

|   | ALL BROADCAST |   | 193 |   |   | 111 |   |

|   |   | ABC World News |   |   | 56 |   |   | 24 |

|   |   | CBS Evening News |   |   | 64 |   |   | 26 |

|   |   | NBC Nightly News |   |   | 38 |   |   | 23 |

|   |   | PBS Newshour |   |   | 35 |   |   | 38 |
****
| 2. DATE |
**
****
**
|   | CLINTON STORIES(%) | BUSH STORIES(%) |

|   | Clinton First Half | 57 | - |

|   | Clinton Second Half | 43 | - |
****
|   |   | 100 |   |

|   | Bush First Half | - | 57 |

|   | Bush Second Half | - | 43 |
****
|   |   |   | 100 |
****
| 3. PLACEMENT (Newspapers only) |
**
****
**
|   | CLINTON STORIES(%) | BUSH STORIES(%) |

|   | Front page | 34 | 34 |

|   | Front business/financial page | 13 | 3 |

|   | Front page/ inside sections | 4 | 5 |

|   | Sunday Review/Outlook | 7 | 5 |

|   | Editorial | 23 | 23 |

|   | Op/Ed | 19 | 30 |

|   | Newspaper/Other | - | - |

|   |   | 100 | 100 |
****
| 4. TOPIC |
**
****
**
|   | CLINTON STORIES(%) | BUSH STORIES(%) |
****
| ALL POLICY ISSUES | 71 |   |   | 74 |   |   |

|   | All Domestic Issues |   | 51 |   |   | 56 |   |
******
|   |   | Budget Issues Only |   |   | 25 |   |   | 27 |

|   | All Foreign/Defense Issues |   | 20 |   |   | 18 |   |
****
| ALL PROFILE/CHARACTER ISSUES | 26 |   |   | 22 |   |   |
****
| OTHER | 3 |   |   | 4 |   |   |

|   |   | Abortion/Family planning | 1 |   |   | 2 |   |   |

|   |   | Agriculture | - |   |   | - |   |   |

|   |   | Budget/Taxes | 25 |   |   | 27 |   |   |

|   |   | Business/Economy (non-budget) | 6 |   |   | 2 |   |   |

|   |   | Campaign Finance | 1 |   |   | 2 |   |   |

|   |   | Civil rights/liberties | * |   |   | - |   |   |

|   |   | Crime incidents or trends | - |   |   | - |   |   |

|   |   | Crime/Gun policy | * |   |   | * |   |   |

|   |   | Culture/Arts | - |   |   | * |   |   |

|   |   | Defense--US | 2 |   |   | 3 |   |   |

|   |   | Disasters | - |   |   | * |   |   |

|   |   | Education | * |   |   | 6 |   |   |

|   |   | Election Process | - |   |   | 2 |   |   |

|   |   | Environment | * |   |   | 6 |   |   |

|   |   | Foreign policy & US Intervention | 16 |   |   | 14 |   |   |

|   |   | Foreign Trade | 3 |   |   | 1 |   |   |

|   |   | Gays in the Military | 7 |   |   | - |   |   |

|   |   | Health Care/The elderly | 5 |   |   | 2 |   |   |

|   |   | Immigration | * |   |   | * |   |   |

|   |   | Labor | 2 |   |   | 2 |   |   |

|   |   | Poverty | 1 |   |   | - |   |   |

|   |   | Religion | - |   |   | 5 |   |   |

|   |   | Science/Technology | 1 |   |   | - |   |   |

|   |   | Women's Rights | 1 |   |   | - |   |   |

|   |

|   |   | Personal profile/character | 4 |   |   | 4 |   |   |

|   |   | Presidential appts./nom.-official | 7 |   |   | 3 |   |   |

|   |   | Political skills/management | 11 |   |   | 11 |   |   |

|   |   | Political philosopy/ideology | 4 |   |   | 4 |   |   |

|   |   | Other | 3 |   |   | 4 |   |   |
********
|   |   |   | 100 |   |   | 100 |   |   |
****
| 5. FRAME |
**
****
**
|   | CLINTON STORIES(%) | BUSH STORIES(%) |

|   |   | Calendar/Process |   | 3 |   |   | 3 |   |

|   |   | Future Implication (longterm) |   | 1 |   |   | - |   |

|   |   | Historical Outlook/Trend |   | 5 |   |   | 3 |   |

|   |   | Battleground |   | 11 |   |   | 14 |   |

|   |   | Performance |   | 13 |   |   | 13 |   |

|   |   | Policy explored/explained |   | 35 |   |   | 48 |   |

|   |   | Official Reaction/Response |   | 3 |   |   | * |   |

|   |   | Reality Check |   | 5 |   |   | 2 |   |

|   |   | Tactics & Strategy |   | 22 |   |   | 14 |   |

|   |   | Wrongdoing exposed |   | * |   |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Other |   | 2 |   |   | 2 |   |
****
| 6. POLITICAL ARENA |
**
****
**
|   | CLINTON STORIES(%) | BUSH STORIES(%) |

| President and: |   |   |

|   |   | Cabinet/Advisors/VP |   | 10 |   |   | 5 |   |

|   |   | Federal Employees/Agencies |   | 3 |   |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Congress |   | 14 |   |   | 25 |   |

|   |   | Courts |   | 1 |   |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | State Officials/Gov't |   | 1 |   |   | 2 |   |

|   |   | Military rank & file |   | 2 |   |   | 2 |   |

|   |   | Foreign Leaders/affairs/markets |   | 16 |   |   | 16 |   |

|   |   | Business/Financial Markets |   | 9 |   |   | 3 |   |

|   |   | Interest Groups (organized) |   | 4 |   |   | 7 |   |

|   |   | Citizens/Subgroups (not formally organized) |   | 16 |   |   | 8 |   |

|   |   | The Media |   | 1 |   |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Family & Friends |   | 2 |   |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Office of the President |   | 20 |   |   | 27 |   |

|   |   | Other |   | 20 |   |   | 27 |   |
********
|   |   |   |   | 100 |   |   | 100 |   |
****
| 7. UNDERLYING THEME |
**
****
**
|   | CLINTON STORIES(%) | BUSH STORIES(%) |

|   |   | Leadership Ability/Skills |   | 37 |   |   | 31 |   |

|   |   | Core Ideology/Agenda |   | 58 |   |   | 65 |   |

|   |   | Character/Personality/Temperament/Honesty |   | 5 |   |   | 4 |   |
********
|   |   |   |   | 100 |   |   | 100 |   |
****
| 8. TONE OF THEME |
**
****
**
|   | CLINTON STORIES(%) | BUSH STORIES(%) |

|   |   | Positive |   | 27 |   |   | 22 |   |

|   |   | Neutral |   | 44 |   |   | 49 |   |

|   |   | Negative |   | 28 |   |   | 28 |   |

|   |   | Satire |   | 1 |   |   | 1 |   |
********
|   |   |   |   | 100 |   |   | 100 |   |
****
| 9. BIG STORY |
**
**
|   | CLINTON STORIES(%) |   |
****
| CLINTON-1993 |   |   |   |

|   |   | Inauguration '93 |   | 3 |   |

|   |   | Budget Speech to Cong |   | 2 |   |

|   |   | Budget Plan Assessment/Explanation |   | 12 |   |

|   |   | Budget Plan Passage (re. Congress or Citizen) |   | 11 |   |

|   |   | Energy Tax |   | 2 |   |

|   |   | Reducing/ "Reinventing" Gov't |   | 2 |   |

|   |   | Jobs Program |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Industrial/Tech. Policy |   | 2 |   |

|   |   | Base Closings |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Abortion |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Health Care Plan |   | 3 |   |

|   |   | Health Care Task Force |   | 2 |   |

|   |   | Gays in the Military |   | 7 |   |

|   |   | Welfare Reform |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Bosnia Intervention |   | 7 |   |

|   |   | Iraq Intervention |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Russian Aid |   | 3 |   |

|   |   | Free Trade |   | 3 |   |

|   |   | Attorney General nominations |   | 6 |   |

|   |   | FBI Director W. Sessions removal |   | * |   |

|   |   | Justice White/Supreme Ct. nomination |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Not a Big Story |   | 29 |   |
****
|   |   |   |   | 100 |   |
**
**
|   |   | BUSH STORIES(%) |
****
| BUSH-2001 |   |   |   |

|   |   | 2000 Election Controversy |   | 2 |   |

|   |   | Inauguration |   | 4 |   |

|   |   | Budget assessment |   | 10 |   |

|   |   | Budget Passage |   | 11 |   |

|   |   | Budget Speech to Congress |   | 4 |   |

|   |   | Estate Tax Specific |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Defense Review |   | 3 |   |

|   |   | Abortion |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | California Power Crisis |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Education Plan |   | 6 |   |

|   |   | Energy Crisis |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Environmental Policy/Global Warming |   | 3 |   |

|   |   | Faith Based Initiative |   | 6 |   |

|   |   | Hanssen Spy Capture |   | - |   |

|   |   | Patient's Bill of Rights |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Blair meeting |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Iraq Intervention |   | 4 |   |

|   |   | Israel/Middle East Policy |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Mexico Policy & Meeting w/ Fox |   | 2 |   |

|   |   | USS Greeneville Fishing Trawler |   | * |   |

|   |   | Bush Reaching Out/Crossing Lines |   | 3 |   |

|   |   | Role of Bush Cabinet/Advisors |   | 2 |   |

|   |   | Ashcroft Nomination |   | 2 |   |

|   |   | Clinton Scandals |   | 1 |   |

|   |   | Not A Big Story |   | 30 |   |

ADDITIONAL COMPARATIVE RESULTS

****
| TOPIC |
********
|   | CLINTON STORIES (%) | BUSH STORIES (%) |
************************
|   | All Newspapers | All Newsweek | All Television | All Newspapers | All Newsweek | All Television |

| ALL POLICY ISSUES | 71 | 67 | 71 | 69 | 80 | 82 |
**************
|   | All Domestic Issues | 49 | 47 | 55 | 48 | 65 | 69 |
**************
|   | All Domestic Issues | 22 | 20 | 16 | 21 | 15 | 13 |

| PROFILE/CHARACTER ISSUES | 25 | 33 | 25 | 26 | 15 | 16 |

| OTHER | 4 | - | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
************************
|   | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
****
| FRAME |
********
|   | CLINTON STORIES (%) | BUSH STORIES (%) |
************************
|   | All Newspapers | All Newsweek | All Television | All Newspapers | All Newsweek | All Television |

| Calendar/Process | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 |

| Future Implication (longterm) | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - |

| Historical Outlook/Trend | 6 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 5 | - |

| Battleground/Conflict | 10 | 12 | 13 | 7 | 15 | 25 |

| Performance | 13 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 9 |

| Policy explored/explained | 38 | 19 | 35 | 51 | 50 | 42 |

| Official Reaction/Response | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | 1 |

| Reality Check | 5 | 10 | 4 | 2 | - | 3 |

| Tactics & Strategy | 21 | 29 | 21 | 13 | 15 | 16 |

| Wrongdoing exposed | - | - | 2 | - | - | 2 |

| Other | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | 1 |
************************
|   | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
****
| POLITICAL ARENA |
********
|   | CLINTON STORIES (%) | BUSH STORIES (%) |
************************
|   | All Newspapers | All Newsweek | All Television | All Newspapers | All Newsweek | All Television |

| President and: |

|   | Cabinet/Advisors/VP | 12 | 12 | 8 | 8 | - | 2 |

|   | Federal Employees/Agencies | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | - | 2 |

|   | Congress | 15 | 6 | 17 | 17 | 30 | 39 |

|   | Courts | 1 | - | 2 | 1 | - | - |

|   | State Officials/Gov't | 1 | - | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 |

|   | Military rank & file | 1 | - | 3 | 2 | - | 2 |

|   | Foreign affairs/markets | 17 | 19 | 13 | 20 | 15 | 11 |

|   | Business/Financial Markets | 12 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 |

|   | Interest Groups (organized) | 4 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 25 | 8 |

|   | Citizens/Subgroups (not formally organized) | 12 | 12 | 23 | 7 | - | 12 |

|   | The Media | 1 | 4 | - | 1 | - | - |

|   | Family & Friends | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - |

|   | Office of the President | 19 | 29 | 18 | 32 | 20 | 18 |

|   | Other | 2 | 2 | - | 1 | - | - |
****
| UNDERLYING THEME |
********
|   | CLINTON STORIES (%) | BUSH STORIES (%) |
************************
|   | All Newspapers | All Newsweek | All Television | All Newspapers | All Newsweek | All Television |

|   | Leadership Ability/Skills | 34 | 51 | 39 | 32 | 15 | 31 |

|   | Core Ideology/Agenda | 60 | 47 | 58 | 63 | 80 | 67 |

|   | Character/Personality | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
************************
|   |   | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
****
| TONE OF THEME |
********
|   | CLINTON STORIES (%) | BUSH STORIES (%) |
************************
|   | All Newspapers | All Newsweek | All Television | All Newspapers | All Newsweek | All Television |

|   | Positive | 30 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 30 | 22 |

|   | Neutral | 42 | 39 | 48 | 43 | 35 | 62 |

|   | Negative | 26 | 39 | 30 | 34 | 35 | 16 |

|   | Satire | 2 | - | - | 1 | - | - |
************************
|   |   | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |