Obama gets more negative press coverage than Romney

Washington - U.S. President Barack Obama has got more negative press coverage in comparison to presidential contender Mitt Romney, according to an analysis.

According to a content analysis carried out by the Pew Research Center, Obama's media coverage was particularly rough at the beginning of the year, with an average of 47 percent negative stories compared with almost 15 percent positive stories during the first four weeks of January.

The analysis shows that the media later became convinced of Romney's inevitability as the GOP nominee with his win in the Michigan elections, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Before that, Romney's coverage was more negative than positive by four percent. Since then, his fortunes have reversed, with 47 percent positive campaign coverage and 25 percent negative.

However, for Rick Santorum, media coverage swung in his favour only after his major victories in Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota and Colorado.

The vetting of a candidate by the media also played into Santorum's rise and fall.

Romney's previous policy positions and background were covered by the media more in the beginning of the race, with 14 percent of coverage devoted to his personal history in January and February.

For Santorum, the media paid marginal attention to him beyond his role in strategy in 2011, but as he emerged as a viable candidate, 18 percent of media coverage on Santorum focused on his policies and background.

Poll results for American politicians Newt Gingrich offered some surprises. Gingrich's media coverage was almost 65 percent after his win, but has dwindled to not more than 10 percent through April.