Now-Ex-New York Governor Eliot Spitzer made a big splash, but even such a juicy scandal couldn’t bump the rough-and-tumble election from the top spot overall – although it did cut newshole percentages for the 2008 campaign by about half across all media. Spitzer was a strong #2 and claimed the top spot in coverage by newspapers and online news sites.
| Story | Overall | Newspr | Online | NetTV | CATV | Radio |
| 2008 campaign | 27% | 12% | 18% | 22% | 46% | 39% |
| Spitzer prostitution scandal | 23% | 17% | 19% | 19% | 34% | 23% |
| US economy | 8% | 13% | 4% | 15% | 4% | 3% |
| Iraq events | 4% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 1% | 2% |
| Tainted drinking water | 3% | 4% | 9% | 2% | x | x |
| Domestic terrorism | 2% | 4% | x | x | 1% | 1% |
| Gas/oil prices | 2% | x | 5% | <1% | <1% | 2% |
| UNC student killed | 1% | x | 3% | 2% | 2% | x |
| China | 1% | x | 6% | x | x | x |
| Admiral Fallon resigns | 1% | x | x | 2% | 1% | x |
| Iraq homefront | x | 2% | x | x | x | x |
| Health care debate | x | 2% | x | x | x | x |
| Global warming | x | 2% | x | x | x | 2% |
| War on terror | x | 1% | x | <1% | <1% | 2% |
| Pakistan | x | x | 4% | x | x | x |
| Iraq policy debate | x | x | 3% | x | x | 2% |
| Hurricane Katrina aftermath | x | x | x | 3% | x | x |
| Immigration | x | x | x | x | 2% | x |
| Israel/Palestine | x | x | x | x | x | 1% |
Source: Project for Excellence in Journalism
