Pew Poll: Bush Not Treated Fairly by Press

Nearly 50 percent of Americans believe the press is unfair to the Bush administration, according to a new Pew Research Center. Similarly, an increasing number of Americans say the press is too critical of the administration.

"Republican perceptions of press coverage of Bush have changed dramatically,� noted the survey.

More than 60 percent of self-identified Republicans believe the press is unfair and too critical of Bush. Just 16 percent of self-identified Democrats believe the press is unfair, and 45 percent say the press has not been critical enough of the president.

Republican perceptions are bolstered by a report released in July by the non-partisan Center for Media and Public Affairs. In "No Second Term Media Honeymoon for Bush,� the Center found network coverage of President Bush was twice as negative � two times as many negative-leaning stories as positive-leaning stories - in the first 100 days of the president�s second term.

ABC News was the worst offender, according to the survey, with 78 percent of comments aired on "World News Tonight� deemed critical of the president.
A new study would likely reveal increasing negativity after July � spurred by Hurricane Katrina and the indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney�s former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter� Libby.