The Palin Phenomenon Drives Campaign Coverage
Last week, John McCain formally accepted his party’s nomination for the U.S. presidency. But he was overshadowed by the attention paid to Sarah Palin, some of which pitted the GOP vs. the media.
Last week, John McCain formally accepted his party’s nomination for the U.S. presidency. But he was overshadowed by the attention paid to Sarah Palin, some of which pitted the GOP vs. the media.
One week after sharing headlines equally with John McCain, Barack Obama again dominated the news last week. And even as McCain and Obama sparred over energy, the old question of what do the Clintons want generated major coverage.
After weeks of shifting campaign narratives, the results May 6 in North Carolina and Indiana results convinced many journalists and pundits that the long and grueling Democratic primary fight was finally resolved. From Tim Russert to Time magazine, the news industry last week declared Barack Obama the winner.
With wins in Ohio and Texas, Hillary Clinton was the top campaign newsmaker last week. The media’s first verdict was that her aggressive attacks succeeded in stopping Barack Obama’s momentum. Their next question was whether Obama was capable of responding in kind.
Barack Obama generated more campaign coverage than Hillary Clinton in a week in which Democrats completely dominated the media narrative. But Clinton’s complaints about a journalistic tilt toward her opponent seemed to strike a responsive chord.
Obama’s big win in Wisconsin shaped the Democrats’ media narrative last week and had some pundits wondering whether Clinton was contemplating her own defeat. And why a New York Times expose about the presumptive GOP nominee may prove to be manna for McCain.
The biggest stories last week were driven by Republican and Democratic presidential debates, the apparent defeat of the compromise immigration bill, and an increasing war of words between the United States and Russia. But the tale of one celebrity’s interrupted incarceration generated a lot of late-week coverage.
The race for the White House was the most popular talk show story last week and Paris Hilton’s unscheduled release from jail was also a hot topic. But the big news may have been the Senate’s failure to pass an immigration measure, an event that seemed like a victory for a number of talk hosts.
TOPIC
FORMAT
AUTHOR
RESEARCH AREA
Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center