{"id":90439,"date":"2008-04-21T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2008-04-21T05:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2008\/04\/21\/pej-campaign-coverage-index-april-14-20-2008\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:12:27","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:12:27","slug":"pej-campaign-coverage-index-april-14-20-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2008\/04\/21\/pej-campaign-coverage-index-april-14-20-2008\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama and Clinton Debate the Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, a major part of the media <\/p>\n\n

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

narrative about the 2008 campaign involved the media themselves\u2014specifically ABC\u2019s Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos and the April 16 debate they moderated in Philadelphia. <\/p>\n\n

Two major story lines drove press coverage in the last full week before the long-awaited Democratic Pennsylvania primary. The first was continued fallout over Obama\u2019s remarks that some economically struggling citizens get \u201cbitter\u201d and \u201ccling\u201d to guns or religion. That subject accounted for 25% of all the campaign coverage last week. <\/p>\n\n

The second major story line, which accounted for another 22% of the coverage, was the ABC debate, which sparked its own debate over whether Obama bore the brunt of too many gaffe and \u201cgotcha\u201d questions. Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales, among the critical reviewers, criticized the moderators\u2019 performances as \u201cshoddy\u201d and \u201cdespicable.\u201d New York Times columnist David Brooks spoke for the opposing view when he lauded the questions, declaring that the \u201cjournalist\u2019s job is to make politicians uncomfortable.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

In either event, the controversy marked the clearest example of the media being injected into the middle of the campaign since the much-criticized Feb. 21 New York Times story suggesting an improper relationship between John McCain and a female lobbyist. <\/p>\n\n

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

Given his central involvement in both major story lines, Obama was the top newsmaker according to the Campaign Coverage Index from April 14-20. He was a significant or dominant factor in 76% of the campaign stories, a large leap from the previous week when he registered at 46%. Clinton, at 59%, trailed Obama, but even that was up a bit from her 56% total a week earlier. <\/p>\n\n

After watching his media coverage climb recently, GOP candidate John McCain fell back to 24% last week, a drop of 11 points from the week before. (All told, the Democrats generated almost six times as many stories as the Republicans last week.) For McCain, that coverage was mixed. He received substantial attention for the economic plan he unveiled on April 15. But as the week went on, McCain found himself dealing not with fiscal policy, but with two lingering personal issues\u2014his age and his temper. <\/p>\n\n

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

By filling 31% of the overall newshole as measured by PEJ\u2019s News Coverage Index for April 14-20, the campaign bounced back from the previous week, when it accounted for only 23%\u2014the low water mark in 2008. It was the top story in four of the five media sectors, with the Pope\u2019s visit topping the online coverage. And once again, the election story was driven by the intense coverage on cable\u2014where it accounted for 51% of the airtime studied\u2014and radio, where it filled 39%. <\/p>\n\n

The Campaign Coverage index is an addition to PEJ\u2019s NCI report, which tracks what stories the media covered in the previous week. The CCI offers a greater level of detail of the campaign coverage. That includes the percentage of stories in which a candidate played a significant role (as a subject of between 25% and 50% of the story) or a main newsmaker role (making up at least 50% of the story). The Index also identifies the key narratives in the reporting and the \u201cLine of the Week,\u201d a statement from a journalist or source that in our researchers\u2019 estimation seems either to capture the story or is particularly colorful. PEJ\u2019s News Coverage Index will not disappear. It will come at the bottom of the CCI. <\/p>\n\n

In recent weeks, with journalists decamped in Pennsylvania for a long single-state campaign, the media narrative has often shifted focus from one candidate to another. One week, a major question is whether Obama is tough enough to engineer a victory in a fierce and grueling campaign. Another week, the key issue is whether Clinton will listen to calls for her to drop out. One week, the media focus on the incendiary remarks of Obama\u2019s pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The next, the spotlight shines on Clinton\u2019s erroneous recollection about dodging snipers on a Bosnia trip. <\/p>\n\n

But this week, even as Obama generated more of the coverage, the two candidates were intertwined in the two big story lines. Obama\u2019s \u201cbitter\u201d sentiments brought criticism from Clinton and a counterattack from Obama. A similar dynamic prevailed after the controversial debate, an event that both candidates tried to use as ammunition against the other. <\/p>\n\n

The \u201cbitter\u201d comments quickly descended into a bitter fight between the Democratic rivals, as chronicled in the April 14 Philadelphia Inquirer. After Clinton called those remarks \u201celitist and divisive,\u201d and expressed support for gun owners, Obama struck back by asserting that \u201cShe\u2019s talking like she\u2019s Annie Oakley,\u201d a reference to the famed female sharpshooter of the Old West. One night later, the CBS Evening News reported that a new Clinton ad playing on the controversy was part of a strategy \u201cto hammer Obama relentlessly,\u201d while the Illinois Senator fought back with a $2 million per week ad blitz of its own.<\/p>\n\n

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

The April 16 debate quickly engulfed not only the candidates, but the moderators too. With Obama frequently on the defensive\u2014facing questions on everything from his failure to wear a flag pin to his relationship with Rev. Wright and former radical William Ayers\u2014the encounter triggered considerable criticism in the mainstream media and blogosphere. \u201cThis was by far, the worst handled debate in the history of politics,\u201d declared one poster on the ABC News web site. The uproar was loud enough that on April 18, the New York Times ran a story headlined, \u201cWho Lost the Debate? Moderators, Many Say.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Obama\u2019s complaints about the lack of substantive questions in the debate triggered another skirmish between the candidates. Above a caption that read, \u201cDemocrats Gripe About Griping,\u201d CNN\u2019s Wolf Blitzer noted on his April 18 show that \u201cHillary Clinton now suggests Barack Obama isn\u2019t tough enough to be President based on his reaction to some difficult debate questions.\u201d That elicited a countercharge of \u201cblatant hypocrisy\u201d by the Obama camp, which cited Clinton\u2019s complaint at a previous debate that she was always being asked the first question. By week\u2019s end, the debate over the debate had become another of the increasingly hostile exchanges between the two candidates. <\/p>\n\n

McCain made his own news last week by unveiling an economic plan on April 15 that included a temporary repeal of the federal gas tax during the summer, increasing the income tax exemption for dependents and cutting spending. In a lukewarm, at best, assessment on the NBC Nightly News, correspondent Kelly O\u2019Donnell noted that \u201ccritics and some economists argue that McCain\u2019s math is wrong.\u201d The next day, the 71-year-old McCain found himself responding to remarks made by 75-year-old Democratic Congressman John Murtha that the presidency is \u201cno old man\u2019s job.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

On Sunday April 20, the Washington Post published a page-one story examining McCain\u2019s \u201ctemperament\u201d\u2014aka temper. The piece\u2014which began with a five-paragraph account of a heated confrontation between McCain and fellow Senator Charles Grassley in 1992\u2014weighed whether McCain\u2019s famous temper made him \u201can erratic hothead\u201d or \u201ca firebrand who is resolute against the forces of greed and gutlessness.\u201d There is little doubt that the question will be explored further by the media in the general campaign. <\/p>\n\n

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

Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s six-day trip to the U.S.\u2014which included his dramatic meeting with victims of the clergy sexual abuse scandal\u2014was the second biggest story of the week, filling 16% of the overall newshole, according to PEJ\u2019s News Coverage Index for April 14-20. (At 22% of the newshole, it was the top story online.) Next came coverage of the Texas polygamy raid (8%), which last week included the custody fight over more than 400 children removed from the compound. The economy followed at 5% of the newshole, just ahead of coverage of events inside Iraq, which registered at 3%. <\/p>\n\n

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

\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

Media Exposure by Candidate<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

\u00a0 <\/p>\n

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

\n

Main Newsmaker <\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Significant Presence <\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

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

Barack Obama (D)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n

64.3%<\/span> <\/p>\n

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

\n

11.3%<\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

75.6%<\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Hillary Clinton (D)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\n

45.3<\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

13.8<\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

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

John McCain (R)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\n

16.3<\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

7.8<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

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

Bill Clinton<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\n

0<\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0.6<\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

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

George W. Bush<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\n

0<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0.3<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

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

Ron Paul (R)<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\n

0<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

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

Total Number of Campaign Stories = 320<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0 <\/p>\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

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

\n

31% <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

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

\n

Pope Visit <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

16 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

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

\n

Texas Polygamy Raid <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

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

\n

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

5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

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

\n

Events in Iraq <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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

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

\n

Supreme Court <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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

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

\n

Delta and Northwest Airlines Merge <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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

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

\n

VA Tech Anniversary <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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

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

\n

Global Warming <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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

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

\n

Food Shortage Worldwide <\/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>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The two Democratic contenders went at it last week, battling over Barack Obama’s “bitter” remarks at a California fundraiser and over the ABC debate that some said had too much “gotcha.” Trailing in the race for attention, John McCain saw the media examine everything from his economic policy to his temper last week. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"PEJ Campaign Coverage Index April 14 - 20, 2008","sub_title":"PEJ Campaign Coverage Index April 14 - 20, 2008","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_api_pending":"","apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_hidden":false,"relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[340],"tags":[],"bylines":[],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[],"research-teams":[527],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-90439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-presidents-press","formats-report","research-teams-journalism"],"label":false,"post_parent":0,"word_count":1392,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2008\/04\/21\/pej-campaign-coverage-index-april-14-20-2008\/","art_direction":false,"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[],"report_materials":"","report_pagination":{"current_post":null,"next_post":null,"previous_post":null,"pagination_items":[]},"parent_info":{"parent_title":"Obama and Clinton Debate the Debate","parent_id":90439},"materialsOrdered":[],"chaptersOrdered":[],"partsOrdered":[],"partsEnabled":false,"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"Obama and Clinton Debate the Debate","description":"

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