Are we the only ones getting a little tired of Campaign 2008? The news media sure isn’t, particularly the folks over there at the cable networks, according to the latest Project for Excellence in Journalism report on coverage, for the week of 5/19/08-5/25/08.
Although more and more, reporters and commentators seem to be treating Barack Obama (D-IL) as the presumptive Democratic nominee, there is no denying the fact that Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is still in it, and no avoiding continuing to cover her efforts.
The usual 2008 menu of bad economic news, natural disasters and Mideast/terrorism coverage was broken up by news of Ted Kennedy’s (D-MA) illness. If Iraq coverage is down, and it is, it has led to increased noise in the watchdog community about the Iraq lack. Click the headline to see the full PEJ media-by-media charts at rbr.com.
| Story | Overall | Newspaper | Online | Net. TV | Cable TV | Radio |
| 2008 campaign | 37% | 18% | 25% | 28% | 65% | 49% |
| Ted Kennedy’s health | 8% | 4% | 5% | 15% | 10% | 8% |
| Gas/oil prices | 6% | 6% | 9% | 9% | 4% | 5% |
| Chinese earthquake | 5% | 7% | 11% | 5% | x | 3% |
| Texas polygamy raid | 4% | 2% | 7% | 7% | 2% | 1% |
| Myanmar cyclone | 3% | 4% | 7% | 2% | x | 2% |
| US economy | 3% | 6% | 3% | x | 1% | 1% |
| Events in Iraq | 2% | 3% | 3% | 2% | x | x |
| Farm bill in Congress | 1% | x | 4% | x | 1% | x |
| Colorado tornado | 1% | x | x | 2% | 2% | x |
| Domestic terrorism | x | 2% | x | x | x | x |
| Microsoft/Yahoo | x | 2% | x | x | x | x |
| Supreme Court actions | x | x | 2% | x | x | x |
| American Idol | x | x | x | 2% | x | x |
| Iraq homefront | x | x | x | 1% | x | x |
| Immigration | x | x | x | x | 2% | x |
| Worldwide food shortage | x | x | x | x | 1% | x |
| Stacey Peterson scandal | x | x | x | x | 1% | x |
| Afghanistan | x | x | x | x | x | 3% |
| Global warming | x | x | x | x | x | 3% |
| Same sex marriage debate | x | x | x | x | x | 2% |
Source: Project for Excellence in Journalism
