PEJ News Coverage Index: May 20 - 25, 2007, Media Give President A Win in War Funding Debate

Ever since President Bush's January 10 speech announcing the “surge” option in Iraq, the Washington-based debate over U.S. war policy has been the biggest story in the news, according to PEJ's weekly News Coverage Index.

For most of those nearly five months, the debate has followed a basic story line—a White House intent on beefing up the U.S. military presence in Iraq versus a new Congress led by Democrats trying to wind down the military role there.

Last week, that Iraq policy debate was again the biggest story in the news, accounting for 10% of all coverage from May 20-25, according to PEJ's Index. The key event was a May 24 Congressional vote that funded the war but did not include troop withdrawal timelines.

Read the full article and view charts on the Project for Excellence in Journalism Web site.