Campus Rampage is 2007's Biggest Story By Far

Coverage Type 

CAMPUS RAMPAGE IS 2007'S BIGGEST STORY BY FAR
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz and Paul Hitlin]
Just last week the Project for Excellence in Journalism reported that the downfall of talk show host Don Imus was the second most-heavily covered story of the year to date. Move over Don. If the carnage in Blacksburg, Virginia did not match the scale or breadth of the attacks of 9/11, it was nonetheless an almost unfathomable tragedy that delivered a deep shock to the nation’s psyche. And it attracted a level of media coverage -- reserved for mega-events that instantly make history books -- that dwarfed any other story this year. Last week’s reporting and commentary on the Virginia Tech massacre accounted for more than half (51%) of all the news coverage from April 15-20, according to PEJ’s News Coverage Index. By way of comparison, the year’s second second-most covered story -- the debate over President Bush’s Iraq “surge” decision from January 7-12 -- filled 34% of the newshole that week. In every media sector the Index examined, the campus disaster generated a record level of coverage. It consumed 50% of the radio airtime, 62% of the network TV newshole, and a remarkable 76% of cable news programming. Even the newspaper front pages and online sector -- which typically tend not to focus as intensely on one story as television does -- devoted 27% and 37% to Virginia Tech, respectively.
http://www.journalism.org/node/5197


Campus Rampage is 2007's Biggest Story By Far