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Imagine how much coverage Palin would get if she was popular

November 24, 2009 3:21 pm ET by Jamison Foser

Sarah Palin's book tour was the third-biggest news story from November 16-22 -- and second-biggest on television and radio talk shows:

Given her status as a polarizing public figure, it's no surprise that Palin's book tour last week-which included her doing interviews with everyone from Rush Limbaugh to Oprah Winfrey-was a hot topic in the talk show world. Indeed more than one-fifth (21%) of the airtime studied on the 12 cable and radio talk shows in the NCI was devoted to the 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate, making it the No. 2 story there after health care. By a narrow margin, coverage of her book tour last week (8%) exceeded the attention devoted to her decision to resign as Alaska governor (7% from July 6-12, 2009).

That's an extraordinary amount of attention for an unpopular politician who holds no office.

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    • Author by goesto11 (November 24, 2009 3:27 pm ET)
      1  
      I love this part:

      "...doing interviews with everyone from Rush Limbaugh to Oprah Winfrey..."

      They make it sound like the list of interviews was sooooooo extensive and soooo representative of all different kinds of media.

      Geez.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by John T. (November 24, 2009 4:24 pm ET)
         
      Popularity does not attention make. In American culture one can be unpopular and still command attention. Palin certainly fits that bill. One only needs to look at her book sales (700,000 copies in the first week), crowd turnouts (1,000+) and ratings increases she delvers (Oprah's interview was the highest rated in two years).
      Report Abuse
    • Author by pros2pros2940 (November 24, 2009 4:27 pm ET)
      1  
      THe Palin coverage is a perfect example of "celebrity driven" journalism and mindless programming like Jon & Kate + 8
      Report Abuse

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