Sheehan Media Update

The press isn't letting the Sheehan story die as she tends to her mom in California. Anear-doubling of hits to 202 hits on Aug. 22 is justfied by a little news -- the Biaz concert and a couple of caravans for and against her. She has become the focal point of opposition, sparking rallys and counter-rallies -- but the media is helping her along by dragging her into largely stories to put a focus on the anti-war side of the story.

Some of the headlines of stories that carried Sheehan's name are, "Bush compares war on terror to world wars" and "US president promoting Iraq war policy to veterans group." Sheehan provides these reporters with an easy hook on which to hang an anti-war paragraph or two.

And from Syria, via BBC:

In a 500-word article in Al-Thawrah, Ali Nasrallah notes growing American public opposition to the war in Iraq and says Cindy Sheehan's camp in Texas is becoming the core of a domestic popular movement against the war. "If President Bush, in the past two years, did not listen to the foreign rejection of his wrong policy, which caused a deep rift in international relations, he must beware the danger of ignoring the American public, which began to realize the negative impact of this policy on all domestic economic, social, and political levels." The writer says: "It is true that mother Sheehan's camp represents an emotional state with human dimensions, but the fact that the camp is attracting politicians, journalists, artists, and thinkers entails deep political meanings, perhaps the most important of which is the call on the US Administration to face the truth and stop the campaigns of forgery and deception."

File that under "aiding and abetting the enemy."

Aug. 22: 202 hits
Aug. 21: 120 hits
Aug. 20: 103 hits
Aug. 19: 232 hits
Aug. 18: 306 hits
Aug. 17: 295 hits
Aug. 16: 215 hits
Aug. 15: 136 hits
Aug. 14: 93 hits
Aug. 13: 107 hits
Aug. 12: 167 hits
Aug. 11: 113 hits
Aug. 10: 46 hits
Aug. 09: 32 hits
Aug. 08: 36 hits
Aug. 07: 39 hits
Aug. 06: 7 hits (6 AP, 1 CBS, natch)
Aug. 05: 3 hits (all Dallas Morning News, pre-arrival)
Aug. 04: 0 hits

And here's an update in the Sheehan/Roberts comparo:

Sheehan: 202 ...... Roberts: 69

Note: Nexis does not provide a complete count. Video Monitoring Service had tracked over 20,000 Sheehan mentionsby Aug. 17. Nexis is, however, a good indicator of how heaviliy the media is covering a story, and it focuses more on larger papers and network shows that more people read and view. CBS News hits deleted from Sheehan/Roberts count because they mention correspondent John Roberts, not the Supreme Court nominee.