Media covered religion as much as race in election

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has an interesting report about media coverage of religion and the election. An excerpt:

... when religion-focused campaign stories were covered by the mainstream press, often the context was negative, controversial or focused on a perceived political problem.

In all, religion was a significant but not overriding storyline in the media coverage of the 2008 campaign. But in a campaign in which an Obama victory would give the U.S. its first black president, religion received as much coverage in the media as race.

Read more.