Democratic unity topped the news of the week
Our cousins over at The Swamp picked up on this study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism. You can get the details over there but the graphic sums it up quite nicely.
What sparked this dominance? The Unity, N.H., appearance by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. It's a bit surprising, though, that the role of Bill Clinton was so light compared to the other mentions, since the former president is the major subtext to the Clinton campaign and Democratic unity.
According to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, "The wide gap in coverage between Obama and McCain can be attributed to several factors. In addition to Obama's efforts to unite his party, other story lines continued to generate press attention. Last week, James Dobson's accusation that the Democratic hopeful's view of the Bible is distorted -- and Obama's response -- filled 6% of the news hole. Rumors about Obama's religion coupled with Karl Rove's charge that he is an elitist helped lift various controversies surrounding Obama and his campaign to 11% of the coverage last week."
-- Scott Martelle
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Posted by Scott Martelle on July 1, 2008 in Campaigning , Current Affairs , Democratic Politics , Electoral College , Energy , Iraq War , Media , Presidential Campaign , Republican Politics | Permalink
Don Frederick has served as an editor helping guide coverage of every presidential election since 1984. He is a third-generation Washingtonian, so watching the political world comes naturally to him.
Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000.
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Nice to see some real issues got some attention- energy, guns, the war, religion.
I still don't feel like the public really knows what Obama has accomplish during his senatorial career and feel that it's time to put more emphasis on highlighting whatever accomplishments he has.
Check out this clip- a Dem Senator/Obama Supporter interviewed by Chris Matthews knows Obama represents this vague change idea but couldn't cite any specific accomplishments.
http://www.greenfaucet.com/hanlons-pub/obama-a-lightweight-nahhh
Posted by: JWargo | July 01, 2008 at 09:21 AM
It should surprise no one that "Efforts to Unite Democrats" drew the most coverage. That is, after all, the top priority for most of the media elite.
-Wm Tate,
http://www.atimelikethis.us/
Posted by: Wm Tate | July 01, 2008 at 11:35 AM