Kennedy's Death Drives News Narrative

The death of Senator Edward Kennedy both dominated and rearranged the news agenda last week, eclipsing two stories—health care and Afghanistan—that had emerged as big summer news. Kennedy's death on August 25—the passing of a Senator of nearly five decades, perhaps the nation's most booming liberal voice and the last surviving brother in the Camelot political dynasty—accounted for 27% of the newshole from August 24-30, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. Kennedy's death indeed generated more coverage than that of any other political or celebrity figure since PEJ began the News Coverage Index in January 2007. The next closest was pop star Michael Jackson, whose June 25 death accounted for 18% of that week's coverage.