Media Coverage Of Presidential Campaign Up, Iraqi War Down

AP:

Politics eclipsed the Iraq war as the top story in recent news coverage as U.S. media attention focused on the presidential race, according to a study released Monday.

Campaign coverage that had paid more attention to Democrats than Republicans in the first three months of the year became more evenly split between the parties, the report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism also found.

Researchers examined more than 18,000 stories from 13 newspapers, eight radio outlets, five online sites, three cable-news channels and both morning and evening network newscasts. The center deemed its study "the most comprehensive ongoing audit of the American press."

Read the whole story: AP

Comments

[Nonamnesiac]

04:39 AM on 08/21/2007

The media portrays the Presidential campaign as if it's Wrestlemania. This trivializes the importance of the campaign and leads the public to become even more cynical.

On the upside, it does force the public to look at its own hypocricy, as supposed anti-war Democrats unabashedly support three pro-war frontrunners (all of them support keeping an indeterminate number of troops in Iraq indefinitely) and supposed progressives mouth support for everything Kucinich says while opposing Kucinich.

[VOTER]

07:32 PM on 08/20/2007

Memo to Huffington Post:

We would greatly appreciate Huffpost displaying a daily headline of the number of dead American soldiers.

You will be doing what no other majoir media group is currently doing...the right thing!

[Hrotea]

06:56 PM on 08/20/2007

MOVEON.ORG WARNING TO CONGRESS, ESPECIALLY THE DEMOCRATS:
VOTE TO END WAR NOW OR FACE POLITICAL EXTINCTION IN 2008

By Hermie Rotea

MoveOn.Org., the grassroot online anti-war movement that was instrumental in electing majority Democratic candidates in the 2006 midterm election and in regaining Democratic control of Congress, has issued a grim warning to its members regardless of their political affiliations, but most especially to the Democrats.

The warning came from an organization that has mass following throughout the nation, as follows:

We've given every member of Congress a clear choice: Vote to end the war or face political extinction.

This angry message came from an activist organization that rightfully feels that it was double-crossed by the Democratic Congress. MoveOn.Org justifiably contends that the Democrats betrayed them when they reneged from their election campaign pledge to end the Iraq war and bring the soldiers home as soon as possible.

The Democrats broke their promise. Instead they did the very opposite of what they had assured while campaigning that they would give the Iraq issue top priority.

They easily forgot that pledge. So under pressure from President Bush who pressed for funding of his U.S. military surge in Iraq, after a tamed resistance, the Democrats just rolled over and played dead. They capitulated to him. They voted to further fund the war without a timetable for troop withdrawal.

Smarting from the double-cross and betrayal of their trust, MoveOn.Org is mobilizing its followers to make sure our representatives head back to Washington with our demands for a speedy withdrawal ringing in their ears.

That's why we're organizing "Stand Up In September" virgils on August 28th—National Take A Stand Day, MoveOn.Org said.

I have covered MoveOn.Org previous demonstrations during the last November election campaign and I can report that it is really composed of dedicated and committed leaders and members. So Democrats who are campaigning to win the 2008 election can ignore this grassroot movement at their own risk.

[helonias]

05:28 PM on 08/20/2007

I would like to see a 24 hr channel with videos of wounded dhuman beings writhing on the ground as they try to push their guts back into their ripped open stomachs, thats war.

[PollM]

04:27 PM on 08/20/2007

The most interesting statement said during the debate.
“I don’t believe you can change this country without taking on very entrenched interests in Washington, including lobbyists,” Edwards said. Still can’t understand why ABC declared Dennis Kucinich as the winner -------> http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=366

[fitz]

03:45 PM on 08/20/2007

Where is the huffblow coverage of that warm, fuzzy story about John Edwards' hedge funds foreclosing on the homes of all those hapless Katrina victims.

I didn't know learning about how to help the poor included kicking their downtrodden asses out in the street.

Nice, John Boy, Nice.

[TJTelecaster]

03:40 PM on 08/20/2007

Oh you've noticed that have you..?

[fact finder]

03:11 PM on 08/20/2007

When nothing is going like you said it was then you hide as best that you can. The conflict is being hidden or so they think. Keep watching where ever you can find it.

[lentinelia]

02:59 PM on 08/20/2007

"Politics eclipsed the Iraq war as the top story in recent news coverage as U.S. media attention focused on the presidential race."

The candidates aren't focusing on the war either.
They'll answer a question if asked. Otherwise they"ll let it slide.

Someone should be out there daily screaming about this nightmare and demanding that we put an end to it immediately.

[Sundialsvc4]

01:38 PM on 08/20/2007

Well, of course. Duh.

These candidates are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on "the politics show" to distract the general public, and who's getting all that money? Right: the media. (The candidates do get the fat book-deals.)

Good business, you know. Just good business...

[lentinelia]

03:02 PM on 08/20/2007

I think this is one of the reasons the media give the candidates with the most money virtually all of the air time. They are anticipating that most of that money will end up in their collective bank accounts in the form of advertising revenue.

A very sick system.

[Grannysue]

01:19 PM on 08/20/2007

of course they can't talk about Iraq, that's such old news anyway, I mean fat toad blossom resigned, Paris released her new fashion line, a guy gets drunk and is eaten by a bear. Now that's real news. I mean it's so much easier too simply ignore our military who are dying, being maimed, all the Iraqi's blown up, and of course how well it's all coming together for Bush's fantasy that well, it's just such a bother. Maybe faux news has it right, let's everyone live in fantasy land, reality really isn't going to well for us!

[forpeace]

12:32 PM on 08/20/2007

*

"Media Coverage Of Presidential Campaign Up, Iraqi War Down"

When watching the local news, there is no mention of Iraq Invasion what so ever, like it never happened!

That's how the US Media Brainwashed the avarage Americans!

*

[StopThePlanet]

12:26 PM on 08/20/2007

That is because American Idol is on hiatus.

[forpeace]

12:30 PM on 08/20/2007

*

"StopThePlanet
That is because American Idol is on hiatus."
================================

Very ture and sad indeed!

*

[thx1138bell]

12:26 PM on 08/20/2007

where's ron paul in the photo?!?

[PaulDonaldson]

11:57 AM on 08/20/2007

Maybe now the fact that David Patraeus isn't going to write any report will go unnoticed so we can focus on more important matters like... say, Hillary's cleavage in congress or whether Fred Thompson will declare his candidacy.

This is the biggest Iraq War story this year and deserves as much attention/scrutiny as possible:

VIDEO - White House To Write Iraq Report
http://beta.redlasso.com/Community/ClipPlayer.aspx?i=bac9f5da-e13e-4aff-8a3d-294bed3007b3