Television is the news source of choice for most Americans for information on the 2008 presidential campaign, with local stations having a slight edge over their cable competitors, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Fifty-two percent (52%) of Americans say they watch local television news for information on the campaign at least several times a week, including 37% who say they watch it every day. Half (50%) say they watch cable news for that information during the week, including 26% who watch daily.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Democrats and 60% of Republicans say they watch local news at least several times a week for campaign coverage. Similarly, cable news coverage of the presidential campaign is viewed at least several days each week by 54% of Republicans and 52% of Democrats.

For 45% of Republicans, talk radio is the next place they go -- at least several days a week. Only 23% of Democrats do the same, which is in part explained by the fact that talk radio is largely dominated by conservative programming.

For Democrats, after local and cable television, the print version of their local newspaper is next, with 39% saying they read it at least several days each week. Nearly as many Republicans (37%) do the same.

Thirty-one percent (31%) of Americans – including 34% of Republicans and 27% of Democrats -- say they go on the Internet at least several times a week to read election coverage.

In a separate survey last month, 49% of voters believed that most reporters are trying to help Democratic candidate Barack Obama win the presidency. Only 14% thought they are trying to help Republican John McCain win. Just one voter in four (24%) said most reporters are trying to be unbiased.

In the 2004 election cycle, most Americans felt the three major television networks – ABC, CBS and NBC – and the two chief cable networks, Fox News and CNN, were all biased in their coverage to help the candidate of their choice – Fox for President Bush, the other four for his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry. Forty percent (40%) of voters thought the campaign coverage of their local newspapers was unbiased, but only 20% to 29% felt that way about the big national newspapers.

A Rasmussen Reports survey in July 2007 found that, by a 39% to 20% margin, Americans believed the three major broadcast networks deliver news with a bias in favor of liberals.

In general, the new survey found that older respondents are more likely to watch television news and read a daily newspaper. Younger Americans generally tend to go online more for information about the presidential campaign.

In another survey last August, 37% of the nation’s adults listed television as the best source for news and information. Thirty percent (30%) named the Internet, 14% print newspapers and 13% radio.

The new findings are of little comfort to the big three traditional television networks. Americans by sizable percentages are more likely to listen to talk radio for campaign coverage than to watch the high-profile evening anchors on ABC, CBS and NBC. When asked specifically about the networks and their star news anchors, well over half of Americans say they rarely or never watch two out of the three for information on the presidential campaign.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) say they rarely or never see CBS’ Katie Couric, the first woman to anchor an evening news program by herself, while 60% say the same of ABC’s anchor Charles Gibson. Just under half (49%) say they rarely or never watch NBC’s Brian Williams, who anchors the evening news program that is most consistently top-rated among the three networks.

By contrast, only 16% say they rarely or never watch local television for information on the presidential campaign, 21% say that of cable news, 36% rarely or never go online to read about the campaign, and 42% say the same of talk radio.

In the latest survey, among cable television viewers, CNN is the choice of 42%, followed by Fox for 35% and MSNBC watched by 20%. The partisan breakdown of that viewership reflects the perceived biases of the two front-running cable news networks, with 60% of Democrats watching CNN versus 57% of Republicans who prefer Fox. Thirty-eight percent (38%) of unaffiliated voters favor each of those networks, while 17% watch MSNBC.

Sixty percent (60%) of likely McCain voters turn to Fox News for presidential campaign coverage, while 62% of potential Obama voters favor CNN. As for MSNBC, it draws 12% of McCain voters and 29% of those who plan to vote for the Democrat.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs available for Premium Members only.