McCain Catches Up to Obama with Media

John McCain attracted virtually as much media attention last week as Democratic rival Barack Obama, the first time that has happened since the general election began in early June, according to a study performed by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ).

Obama was a significant or dominant factor in 81 percent of campaign stories versus 78 percent for McCain, a high point for the GOP candidate in the general election season, according to PEJ’s Campaign Coverage Index for July 28-Aug. 3. McCain’s previous record was 62 percent between June 30-July 6. It also marks the first time McCain’s weekly coverage has been within 10 percentage points of Obama’s total. Since the general election contest began eight weeks ago, McCain has only garnered 55 percent of the stories in which he was significantly featured, compared with 79 percent for Obama.

McCain’s rise in media attention comes a week after Obama’s Mideast and European tour – which commanded half of the election coverage for July 21-27 – and also a week after widespread accusations that the media was biased in favor of Obama. Underscoring the narrative was McCain’s controversial ad last week comparing Obama’s celebrity status to that of Hollywood starlets Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.

– Katie Stapleton-Paff