Former House Speaker and current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi gave a press conference earlier, and all three cable news channels tuned in to see if she would comment on the big story of the day, the resignation of Anthony Weiner. Unfortunately, she wanted to talk about jobs, not her soon-to-be former colleague.
Talking Points Memo noted that once it became clear that Weiner would not be the topic du jour, they all cut away:
Cutting away might not have been the best strategy, however.
A new survey from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press said that respondents thought the media spent too much time on Weiner and Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s bus tour, and not enough time on subjects like jobs and the economy, which have a more direct impact on their everyday lives.
The sense that the Weiner and Palin stories have gotten too much coverage crosses partisan lines – majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents offer this assessment. Still, there are modest differences in opinion by party. Among Republicans, 57% say the Weiner story has gotten too much coverage, somewhat less than the 68% of Democrats that say this. Two-thirds of independents (66%) say the same.
What do you think? Obviously Weiner and Palin are stories worth covering, but have they taken up too much of the coverage?