andyl

Today's Guardian, research by Loughborough University..

"...........This sense of drift is also reflected by the extent to which the tabloid press has become less interested in the election as polling day has drawn nearer. Over the past four weeks more than three-quarters of tabloid front pages have featured stories other than the election. Among the red tops, the number of non-election front pages rises to 87%.

"The lack of coverage, particularly in the tabloids, has to be noted as a defining characteristic," Prof Golding said.

"You can point to other stories such as Posh and Becks and the Guildford stabbing, but they have had their equivalents in previous campaigns. The coverage is significantly down and that's not trivial."

The Sun and the Daily Mirror each devoted more than 10 times as many column inches to the Beckhams' marriage than to the leaking of Lord Goldsmith's legal advice on the legality of war in Iraq."

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/sto...474748,00.html