As usual, Smart Politics trots out a great study.
A Smart Politics week-by-week analysis of ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, and NPR broadcast media transcripts finds that since late June, Mitt Romney has been mentioned in the most reports among the 2012 Republican candidates for just four of these 22 weeks.
And as Smart Politics notes, a reasonable guess is that the media has been focusing attention on whichever new anti-Romney pops up in those weeks.
But here's the stat that validates a fundamental reality.
the perennial GOP frontrunner has been mentioned in the most news reports overall during this five-month span at 3,355.
In other words, he's been the consistent front-runner in the overall arc, which reflects his status as the consistent leader.
Btw, Ron Paul and his backers have complained about being ignored by the media -- which the internals of the study also confirm -- but Romney's relatively weak numbers on a weekly basis suggest this: people just aren't as interested in repeat presidential candidates.
After all, those are the only two retreads from '08.
