Which prospective Republican presidential candidates are getting the most media attention? It depends on whether you get your news from traditional media or from blogs, Nate Silver says in his NY Times blog, FiveThirtyEight.
In traditional media, the five candidates getting the most attention are Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour and Tim Pawlenty. The picture is different in the blogosphere: There, Palin dominates with about 30 percent of the overall coverage. Gingrich is still on the top five list, but further down, at No. 4. And the remaining three are Donald Trump, Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann.
A look back four years, to March 2007, shows that both eventual 2008 nominees, Barack Obama and John McCain, were leading in both traditional media and blog mentions, although not in the polls. And both blogs and mainstream press generally paid less attention to candidates who proved not to have much impact on their respective races.