Karzai’s Rank as a Foreign Newsmaker

Afghanistan President Harmid Karzai has been much in the news lately as the result of charges of corruption in the August 20 presidential election in Afghanistan as well the escalating violence in his country throughout the year. Still, Karzai, who has been the lead newsmaker in 55 stories so far this year according to the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism’s News Coverage Index, still trials far behind this year’s top newsmaker among overseas leaders, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad was the lead newsmaker in 145 stories so far in 2009 according to PEJ. Securing the No. 2 ranking is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (87 stories), who took office in March and has been a central figure of U.S. diplomacy, with a focus on restarting peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. Read More