Election coverage cools to red hot

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Coverage of the 2008 election campaign was ratcheted back in the week after Super Duper Tuesday, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism report for the week of 2/11/08-2/17/08. But it still came home at a hefty 40% of available time and space. Still, that made enough room for a grand total of five overall top ten stories with 5% of the total newshole, compared to only three the week before.


Predictably, the shootings at Northern Illinois University made that group, along with more coverage of the troubled economy, domestic terrorism and the baseball steroids scandal, which rode the Capitol Hill testimony of Roger Clemens, a relatively unusual feat for a sports story (although, of course, the Clemens saga is as much substance abuse story as it is a sports story). Iraq/Mideast coverage was still subdued, especially compared to 2007 weekly levels. Three areas of coverage made the top ten, but for a combined share of only 5%.

Story Overall Newspr Online NetTV CATV Radio
2008 campaign 40% 29% 32% 29% 62% 46%
Domestic terrorism 6% 8% 6% 10% 3% 6%
US economy 6% 10% 7% 7% 6% 2%
N.Ill.U. shootings 5% 3% 7% 9% 2% 2%
Baseball steroids 5% 5% 4% 6% 7% 2%
Hezbullah leader killed 2% 2% 5% 2% x x
Iraq events 2% 3% x x x 3%
Iraq homefront 1% 3% 2% 1% x x
Immigration 1% 3% x x 2% x
Katrina aftermath 1% x 4% 1% 1% x
Pakistan x 3% x x x 2%
GM loses 39B x x 4% 1% x x
Iraq policy x x 3% x x 2%
Global warming x x x 1% x x
Missing OH woman x x x x 2% x
Chinese recalls x x x x 1% x
DOJ/Chinese spy x x x x 1% x
War on terror x x x x x 2%
Writers strike x x x x x 1%

Source: Project for Excellence in Journalism