Obama, McCain covered most by media

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's spate of wins gave the Illinois senator more campaign news coverage that rival Hillary Clinton, a study says.

Obama, who won eight straight Democratic nominating contests as of the Feb. 12 so-called Potomac Primary, was a major topic of news stories, The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism found.

The study points to a front-page Feb. 11 USA Today story that began with the news that the Clinton team had replaced campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle. The next day, ABC's "Good Morning America" reported that the famed wax museum, Madame Tussauds, had unveiled a statue of Obama standing in the Oval Office.

On the Republican side, Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, has been covered in the news more than rivals former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, the study found.

Coverage of the 2008 White House race reportedly filled 40 percent of the so-called newshole from Feb. 11-17.

Cable television paid the most attention to the campaigns, devoting 62 percent of its coverage to the story.