Obama Overseas and the Media

Sen Barack Obama's trip overseas consumed 51% of the campaign newshole for the week of July 21-27, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism's Campaign Coverage Index. That was enough to make it the second-biggest campaign story line since PEJ began tracking them in mid-March. (Only coverage of the April 22 Pennsylvania primary, during the week of April 21-27, generated more attention.) The trip also helped Obama, for the seventh consecutive week, dominate John McCain in the contest for media exposure. The Democrat was a significant or dominant factor in 81% of the campaign stories studied compared with 53% for McCain. Interestingly, even with all the attention to Obama's trip, those numbers dovetail closely with the weekly coverage averages since the general election campaign began in June. In that period, Obama has factored in 79% of the coverage with McCain at 52%. One reason Obama's advantage might not have been greater last week was that McCain managed to inject himself into the media narrative by challenging his opponent over Iraq policy and with some counter-programming—including a visit to a German restaurant in Columbus Ohio while Obama was in Germany. But if you combine the top three story lines of the week—Obama's trip (51% of the newshole), the debate over Iraq that was largely triggered by Obama's visit there (7%), and press examination of its treatment of Obama (7%)—those three threads account for two-thirds of the week's campaign coverage.