Even the Palin phenomenon took a back seat last week as a profound crisis in the financial markets dominated the headlines. In a campaign season of constantly changing storylines, will this become the dominant issue that determines the outcome?
Barack Obama’s efforts to heal the wounds of the primary battle and to reconcile with the Clintons were the major story lines in last week’s coverage of the Presidential campaign. And they’re a big reason why the Democratic nominee generated about twice as much coverage as did John McCain.
Barack Obama and John McCain sparred over offshore drilling and campaign financing, and former Presidential contender Al Gore generated headlines with an endorsement of Obama. But the coverage last week also focused on two people—Michelle Obama and George Bush—who may have a major impact on the outcome of the election.
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.
What did last week’s flare up of violence in Pakistan, the scary news about a deadly “superbug,” and the ideological skirmishes among presidential hopefuls have in common? They were all top stories, but each seemed more suited for a different media sector.
The deadly collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis last week quickly became one of the most heavily covered events of the year so far. And while it was the top story in every medium, coverage was particularly intense on cable TV, where officials, rescuers and even some victims told their stories.
The Attorney General faced a grilling from Congress, the Supreme Court weighed in on abortion rights, hundreds were slaughtered in a single day in Iraq, and a vicious storm wreaked havoc on the East Coast. But each of those events last week was completely overshadowed by the media’s non-stop coverage of the horrific events that unfolded on the campus of Virginia Tech.
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