{"id":90322,"date":"2008-08-18T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2008-08-18T05:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2008\/08\/18\/pej-campaign-coverage-index-august-11-17-2008\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:12:27","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:12:27","slug":"pej-campaign-coverage-index-august-11-17-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2008\/08\/18\/pej-campaign-coverage-index-august-11-17-2008\/","title":{"rendered":"War in Georgia is Bigger News than the Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fighting between Russia and Georgia<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

was the biggest story in the U.S. media last week, marking the first week in nine months when the presidential race did not generate the most coverage, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center\u2019s Project for Excellence in Journalism.<\/p>\n\n

The conflict in the Caucasus, which raised the specter of a re-ignited Cold War, accounted for 26% of all the overall coverage last week, according to PEJ\u2019s weekly News Coverage Index for the week of Aug. 11-17. The campaign, at 21%, generated its lowest level of weekly coverage since last December\u2014before the first caucus or primary vote was cast. <\/p>\n\n

The crisis in Georgia also quickly became a major campaign issue. Stories about the conflict primarily involving the candidates\u2019 views were the No. 1 election storyline, accounting for 14% of the campaign coverage studied by PEJ. <\/p>\n\n

For the ninth time in 10 weeks, moreover, Obama generated more coverage than his rival, even during a week when he was vacationing. The Democrat registered as a significant or dominant factor in 63% of the campaign stories studied, compared with 50% for McCain.<\/p>\n\n

But it was a week that offered a reminder that more does not necessarily mean better. Last week McCain reaped some positive coverage for his aggressive approach to the crisis between Russia and Georgia. And a number of post mortems gave him good marks for his performance during an Aug. 16 forum on values and religion at a California mega-church. At the same time, Obama again faced a media narrative focused on a divided Democratic Party and his tricky relationship with the Clintons. <\/p>\n\n

Another major storyline last week also did not bring good tidings for Obama. A new attack book called \u201cObama Nation\u201d\u2014from the man who co-authored \u201cUnfit for Command\u201d about John Kerry in 2004\u2014accounted for 6% of the campaign news. Even as stories questioned author Jerome Corsi\u2019s accuracy and motives, the book made Page 1 of the New York Times and Washington Post and Corsi hit the talk show circuit in a major way. <\/p>\n\n

With the war in Georgia leading the campaign discussion and the economy accounting for another 5% of the narrative, all the policy issues combined accounted for 23% of the week\u2019s campaign coverage. Once again, however, the episodic nature of the campaign was highlighted as coverage of energy policy fell to less than 1%. Only a week earlier, it had been the No. 1 election theme, accounting for 23% of the coverage. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n

All of these findings are part of PEJ\u2019s running content analysis of media coverage, called the News Coverage Index. During the election year, PEJ has added special coding to more closely examine coverage of the race for President and renamed the work the Campaign Coverage Index. The full NCI data runs at the bottom. The CCI measures both the nature of the campaign narrative and the amount of coverage devoted to each candidate. The race for exposure is measured by the number of stories in which a candidate plays a significant role (as a subject of between 25% and 50% of the story) or a main newsmaker role (at least 50% of the story). The campaign storyline of the week\u2014the specific themes that make up the campaign coverage\u2014are measured as a percentage of overall coverage, or newshole. <\/p>\n\n

For the second week in a row, Obama also had to share billing with Hillary Clinton. Two weeks ago, she was a significant or dominant factor in 15% of the election coverage. Last week that increased to 17% with the news that her name would be placed in nomination at the convention. While both the Obama and Clinton camps portrayed that as a gesture of unity, some analysts saw it as a sign of weakness and a potential embarrassment for the Democratic nominee. (The headline on Michael Goodwin\u2019s column read: \u201cBarack Obama blinks in Hillary face-off.\u201d) <\/p>\n\n

Another 5% of last week\u2019s coverage involved a post-mortem of the Clinton campaign, some of it stemming from a much-discussed Atlantic magazine article. Among other things, the Atlantic story reported on Clinton advisor Mark Penn\u2019s advice\u2014not taken by the candidate\u2014to target Obama\u2019s \u201clack of American roots,\u201d which some critics think has a continuing resonance in the argument about Obama now coming from Republicans in the general election. All told, stories related to Hillary Clinton, Democratic disunity, and the upcoming convention accounted for 20% of last week\u2019s campaign coverage. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n

One event late in the week emerged as the No 2. campaign storyline. The Aug. 16 forum hosted by evangelical superstar Rick Warren generated 10% of the coverage. Here too, the news was generally good for McCain. While many accounts said both candidates did well, some noted that McCain\u2014who had previously displayed some unease discussing religion\u2014surpassed expectations. \u201cIf Obama hit a home run, McCain scored a grand slam,\u201d wrote Margaret Carlson on Bloomberg.com <\/p>\n\n

Overall, the campaign accounted for 21% of the newshole as measured by PEJ\u2019s News Coverage Index for the week of Aug. 11-17. But it was the No. 1 story in only one media sector\u2014cable news where it accounted for 44% of the airtime studied. The war between Georgia and Russia, at 26%, was the top story in newspapers, online and in the radio sector. (The last time another story trumped the campaign was Nov. 4-9, 2007 when a state of emergency was declared in Pakistan.) And if one combines the 26% of the newshole devoted to stories about the conflict with the coverage that focused largely on the presidential candidates\u2019 positions, the subject actually accounted for about 30% of the overall coverage last week. <\/p>\n\n

The week began with the first full-blown foreign crisis of the presidential campaign, the conflict which quickly put the U.S. at loggerheads with its old Cold War rival. McCain\u2019s tougher stance toward the Russians combined with more cautious language from the vacationing Obama created a sense in the media that the Republican was benefiting politically.<\/p>\n\n

As ABC\u2019s George Stephanopoulos saw it on the Aug. 14 edition of Good Morning America, the conflict \u201cends up, I believe, helping in the short-term John McCain. He has long warned about aggressive, belligerent Russia. Barack Obama is playing it a little more safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The next night, in a discussion on MSNBC\u2019s Hardball, Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis said Obama had done \u201ca pretty good job\u201d handling the crisis. His Republican counterpart John Feehery was less measured. He talked about a \u201cstature gap\u201d between the two candidates on foreign policy. \u201cI think it really hurt Barack Obama that he didn\u2019t come off his vacation and come back and look presidential,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n

If Russia was the top international concern last week, Obama\u2019s primary domestic political challenge in the press seemed to be dealing with the fallout from the primary campaign. An Aug. 12 Associated Press article on AOL News was one of many that focused on the Atlantic\u2019s reporting about Mark Penn\u2019s blueprint for beating Obama. <\/p>\n\n

The story included Penn\u2019s idea that Obama\u2019s “lack of American roots” made him vulnerable. And it quoted a Penn memo (\u201cWon’t a single tape of Wright going off on America with Obama sitting there be a game-ender?”) essentially hoping for a smoking gun in the relationship between Obama and his controversial pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. <\/p>\n\n

The agreement to place Clinton\u2019s name in nomination at the convention in Denver spawned plenty of media commentary suggesting peril for Obama. \u201cA roll call of the states with delegations methodically announcing tallies has the potential of turning divisive. Emotions attached to each candidate are still raw,\u201d declared CBS correspondent Dean Reynolds on the Aug. 14 newscast. As if to illustrate the point, the story then featured a clip of a Clinton backer confidently predicting that her candidate will be the next President. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cWith Obama the certain winner,\u201d Reynolds continued, \u201cthis gesture may amount to less than her supporters wish.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Nonetheless, more than two months after the primary battles ended, the question of \u201cwhat does Hillary want?\u201d (and her supporters, too) is still attracting plenty of media attention.
<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

And now, in the rest of the week\u2019s news: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from the fighting in Georgia and the campaign, another story last week also generated major coverage, according to PEJ\u2019s News Coverage Index. The Olympic Games in Beijing accounted for 14% of the Aug. 11-17 newshole and were the No. 1 story on network news, filling 28% of the airtime studied. (NBC is the host network and Brian Williams has been anchoring those newscasts from China.) <\/p>\n\n

One possible beneficiary of all the big news last week was former presidential candidate John Edwards. The still unfolding saga of his extramarital affair was the No. 4 story, filling 4% of the newshole\u2014a number that might have been higher had attention not been focused elsewhere. Finishing up as the week\u2019s No. 5 story (at 3%) was the state of the U.S. economy. <\/p>\n\n

Mark Jurkowitz of PEJ<\/em> <\/p>\n\n

\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

Note: As a result of Beijing 2008 Olympics special MSNBC programming, MSNBC\u2019s daytime programming and Race for the White House did not air as usual and were excluded from our dataset for this week. Also due to technical errors specific to August 15, the following Fox News shows were not included: Special Report with Brit Hume and O\u2019Reilly Factor.<\/em> <\/span> <\/p>\n\n

\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

Campaign Storylines of the Week<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

\u00a0 <\/p>\n

<\/p><\/td>\n

\n

Total Percent of Campaign Newshole <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Candidates Responses to Russia\/Georgia Conflict<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n14.1% <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rick Warren’s Church Forum<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n10.1<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Democratic Convention in Denver<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n7.3<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Obama’s VP Search<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n6.4<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jerome Corsi’s Book “Obama Nation” <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n6.0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clinton<\/span> Campaign Review<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n5.1<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clinton<\/span>\/Supporters at Democratic Convention
<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n		5.1<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Economy as an Issue<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\n

5.0<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Total Number of Campaign Stories = 238<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

Top Overall Stories of the Week<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Rank <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Story <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Percent of Newshole <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

1 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Georgia\/Russia Conflict <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

26% <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

2 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

2008 Campaign <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

21<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

3 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Olympics <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

4 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

John Edwards Admits Affair <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

5 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

U.S. Economy <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

6 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Energy Debate <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

7 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Shooting at Arkansas Democratic HQ <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

8 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Caylee Anthony, Missing Girl in Florida <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

9 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Pakistan <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

10 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Gas\/Oil Prices <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Click here<\/a> to see the top ten stories for each media sector. <\/a> <\/p>\n\n

Click here<\/a> to see the methodology for the Campaign Coverage Index <\/p>\n\n

<\/h5>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, for the first time this year, an event other than the race for president was the No. 1 story. The crisis with Russia was the top story and campaign theme in a week when Barack Obama got more coverage, but John McCain may have gotten the better of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","sub_headline":"PEJ Campaign Coverage Index August 11 - 17, 2008","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","bylines":[],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"bylines":[],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[],"research-teams":[527],"class_list":["post-90322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","formats-report","research-teams-journalism"],"label":false,"post_parent":0,"word_count":1647,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2008\/08\/18\/pej-campaign-coverage-index-august-11-17-2008\/","art_direction":false,"_embeds":[],"table_of_contents":[],"report_materials":"","report_pagination":{"current_post":null,"next_post":null,"previous_post":null,"pagination_items":[]},"parent_info":{"parent_title":"War in Georgia is Bigger News than the Campaign","parent_id":90322},"materialsOrdered":[],"chaptersOrdered":[],"partsOrdered":[],"partsEnabled":false,"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"War in Georgia is Bigger News than the Campaign","description":"Last week, for the first time this year, an event other than the race for president was the No. 1 story. 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