Report Summary

According to the latest Times Mirror monthly News Interest Index, most Americans (55%) think that the press is unfair in the way it covers the Vice President. Only one in three Americans (33%) regard coverage of him as fair. Republicans and Independents were more likely than Democrats to be critical of the way the press covers Quayle, but even Democrats divided sharply on the issue (43% fair, 44% unfair). Feeling that the media is unfair to Dan Quayle is as prevalent today as it was at the high point of the controversy over his candidacy in 1988. An August 1988 Times Mirror poll also found 55% believing that the press was covering Quayle unfairly.