The midterm elections were the top news story for the week of September 13-19, with Christine O’Donnell’s surprise primary win in Delaware leading the way in terms of coverage, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
The cable networks devoted 42% of the newshole to the midterms, with the broadcast news organizations spending 20% of their time covering the elections.
About half of the midterm coverage focused on the role of the tea party movement, with O’Donnell serving as the spark…
O’Donnell was also the week’s top “newsmaker,” based on news mentions, ahead of President Obama and Sara Shourd, the hiker freed by Iran.
The second most covered story of the week was the U.S. economy, which attracted 15% of the newshole, with education third.