A new study shows that the US media have covered stories weighted in favour of same-sex marriage five times 
more than they have covered statements opposing it.
The survey [1], by the Pew Media Centre, measured the coverage of same-sex marriage in the US media from March 18th, 2013 – a week before the US Supreme Court heard arguments about the issue, to May 12th.
Almost half (47pc) of the nearly 500 stories primarily focused on support for the measure, while nine percent largely focused on opposition and 44pc had a roughly equal mix of both viewpoints or were neutral.
In order for a story to be classified as supporting or opposing same sex marriage, statements expressing that position had to outnumber the opposite view by at least 2-to-1. Stories that did not meet that threshold were defined as neutral or mixed.
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. A recent Pew survey showed that 51pc of the public support legalising same-sex marriage while 42pc remain opposed.
This news media focus on support held true for news reports and opinion pieces, and 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, regarded as more conservative on most issues.
In addition to the main set of news media, this study also examined same-sex marriage coverage in three other media segments: Twitter, the Huffington Post – which has a dedicated microsite to “Gay Voices” and produced so much coverage that it was examined separately from the rest of the news media – and a mix of homosexual news outlets.
Twitter postings on the subject were nearly evenly split between support and opposition for the measure, aligning much more closely with public opinion than with the news media.
Coverage on the Huffington Post, on the other hand, was even more tilted towards support of same-sex marriage than the rest of the news media.
According to the study, 62pc of the 365 stories on the Huffington Post were dominated with statements of support – very close to the level of support in the homosexual news outlets studied.