Iraq Dominates News Landscape in First Half of 2007

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Iraq Dominates News Landscape in First Half of 2007
In the first six months of 2007, the Iraq war has captivated the public's interest and eclipsed most of the year's other major news stories, including the 2008 presidential election, two major Washington political scandals, and news from other international trouble spots. Iraq has been the most closely followed news story in 18 of the 22 weeks that the Pew Research Center has been tracking public attentiveness to the news.

The only stories this year that have drawn greater public interest than the war were the Virginia Tech shootings in April and rising gas prices at the end of May. In addition, the release in early April of 15 British sailors and marines who were held captive by the Iranian government drew slightly more interest than the war to become that week's most closely followed news story.

Read the full article and view charts at the Pew Research Center Web site.

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