Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
By generating more coverage than any other candidate last week, and easily outdistancing his GOP rivals, Senator John McCain rode a media narrative of near inevitability last week. Plus, Senator Ted Kennedy becomes a major newsmaker.
With the South Carolina primary as backdrop, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton finished in a near tie in the media derby. But in a nasty week former President Bill Clinton was a bigger newsmaker than any Republican candidate.
The two leading Democrats once again attracted more coverage than any of their GOP rivals in the race for media exposure last week. But the GOP overall tipped the scales in what became a big boost for Mitt Romney, both in Michigan and in the media.
The two biggest names in talk radio are telling their listeners how to separate the real conservatives from phonies. And some hosts seemed to “cover” the campaign by becoming part of the story.
John McCain and Hillary Clinton both walked away with crucial New Hampshire victories but the Arizona Republican trailed the New York Democrat badly in the battle for media attention. And why the media treated Mike Huckabee’s third-place finish much differently than John Edwards’.
The Project for Excellence in Journalism did not issue a News Index report this week, but the data is available.
The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism did not publish a full Weekly News Index report for December 23-28, 2007. PEJ is, however, making the data available.
All year long, Hillary Clinton has dominated the campaign conversation on the talk airwaves. And last week, signs that the Democratic battle for president might be tightening had many hosts talking up the idea of a Clinton swoon. Plus, Michael Savage on steroids. (Talking about them, not taking them.)