Sarah Palin drove the media narrative last week

Sen Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for President, was a significant or dominant factor in 61% of the campaign stories from Sept. 8-14, according to the Campaign Coverage Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. But for the second week in a row, Gov Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), the GOP vice presidential hopeful, got more coverage (53%) than the man atop the ticket, Sen John McCain (49%). Palin's Democratic counterpart, Sen Joe Biden, has become the virtually forgotten candidate, registering at only 5% last week. The campaign storylines revolving around Palin accounted for 50% of the campaign newshole last week. She was the focal point of the four biggest media narratives—scrutiny of her public record (14% of the newshole), the ABC interview (10%), the "lipstick on a pig" flap (10%) and general reaction to her nomination (9%). In addition, the week's No. 8 storyline was her impact on women voters, at 3% of the newshole.