When Maura Clancey and Michael J. Robinson's analysis of the media coverage of the 1984 election showed that incumbent President Reagan received significantly more negative coverage than his challenger Walter Mondale, they did not conclude that this was due to liberal media bias. Instead, they came up with the notion of "compensatory journalism" - the tendency of reporters to be tougher on candidates who have perceived advantages over their competitors.

In the case of the 1984 presidential election, the advantage Reagan held was incumbency. In the 1996 Republican primary, Steve Forbes received atypically negative coverage that was the result of two main perceived advantages of his campaign: self-financing and negative television commercials. In the 2008 Republican primary, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney was in a similar position as Forbes in terms of personal wealth and airing attack ads, and was also polling ahead of his competitors in crucial early contest states like Iowa and New Hampshire. This brings about the question: did the mass media engage in compensatory journalism in its coverage of the 2008 Republican primary?

Using content analysis of the broadcast networks' evening news shows, this study looks at the tone of the coverage the main Republican candidates received, as well as the way their television ads and money situations were covered. Analysis of the data shows that compensatory journalism was present in the coverage of the 2008 Republican primary. This thesis also explains the potential effects compensatory journalism can have on voters and consequently the outcome of elections.