PEJ Campaign Coverage Index: October 6 - 12, 2008, Economy Shrinks, Tactics Grow, in Media Narrative

It was a brutal week on Wall Street. The stock market plunged below 9,000 for the first time in five years. In the race for President, 66 million people watched John McCain and Barack Obama face off in their second debate, a town hall-style event, in Nashville.

Yet the media narrative of the campaign focused on tone and tactics last week, perhaps as the press searched for something that might alter the strategic dynamic of the race.

For the first time in a month, the 2008 campaign generated more coverage than the financial crisis (41% vs. 36%). And almost one-third of that election coverage was connected to the increasingly harsh tone of the campaign, according to the Oct. 6-12 Campaign Coverage Index from the Pew Research Center's Project For Excellence in Journalism.

Read the full report Economy Shrinks, Tactics Grow, in Media Narrative on the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism Web site.