War in Georgia, Not Campaign, is big News of the Week

According to PEJ's weekly News Coverage Index for the week of Aug. 11-17, the fighting between Russia and Georgia was the biggest story last week, marking the first week in nine months when the presidential race did not generate the most coverage. The crisis in Georgia also quickly became a major campaign issue. Stories about the conflict primarily involving the candidates' views were the No. 1 election storyline, accounting for 14% of the campaign coverage studied.