THE BUSH BEAT

Media Monitor, a research publication of the Center for Media Studies in Washington, says CBS was tougher on President George Bush during his first 100 days in office than NBC or ABC. A study by the nonprofit media research group found Bush received favorable personal evaluations, but his policies were assessed positively only 39% of the time on CBS, compared to 63% favorable on NBC. ABC gave Bush 85% positive evaluations, according to the analysis. Whether negative or positive, Bush is getting less coverage than his predecessors, the study indicates. He has drawn 37% fewer stories than Ronald Reagan did in 1981 and 45% fewer than Jimmy Carter in 1977.