PEJ New Media Index: Bipartisan Kennedy Condolences Dominate the Blogosphere

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PEJ New Media Index: Bipartisan Kennedy Condolences Dominate the Blogosphere

The blogosphere last week was even more devoted to the death of Senator Ted Kennedy than the mainstream press. And in a sign that social media is not all twenty-somethings whose political memory dates back only to the mid-90s, the posts were filled with personal tributes and remembrances-from both sides of the ideological spectrum.  

The death of the long-time senator received 38.7% of the links in blogs, according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. This outpaced the 27% of the mainstream media newshole devoted to Kennedy, according to PEJ'S News Coverage Index, and made it the biggest weekly story in blogs since the Iranian elections the week of June 15th-19th.

The emphasis in the blogs and mainstream press was also quite different. Coverage in the mainstream media ranged from the logistics of the memorial and funeral services to retrospectives on the senator's public accomplishments to his family history and personal trials. 

But in the blogs, postings were predominately about sharing emotions and memories.

Read the full report Bipartisan Kennedy Condolences Dominate the Blogosphere on the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism Web site.

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