In a period marked by Supreme Court deliberations on the
subject, the news media coverage provided a strong sense of momentum towards
legalizing same-sex marriage, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center . Stories with more
statements supporting same-sex marriage outweighed those with more statements
opposing it by a margin of roughly 5-to-1.
In the coverage studied, the central argument among
proponents of same-sex marriage was one of civil rights. Arguments against were
more varied, but most often voiced the idea that same-sex marriage would hurt
society and the institution of traditional marriage.
Almost half (47%) of the nearly 500 stories studied from
March 18 (a week prior to the Supreme Court hearings), through May 12,
primarily focused on support for the measure, while 9% largely focused on
opposition and 44% had a roughly equal mix of both viewpoints was neutral.
Many of the events themselves during the period studied,
such as announcements by politicians and state legislation, reflected movement
towards same-sex marriage. Polls show the nation's views have been shifting as
well, though there remains significant opposition with 51% of the public in
support of legalizing same-sex marriage versus 42% opposed, according to a
recent Pew Research Center survey.
This news media focus on support held true whether the
stories were reported news articles or opinion pieces, and was also the case
across nearly all media sectors studied. All three of the major cable networks,
for instance, had more stories with significantly more supportive statements
than opposing, including Fox News.
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