Coverage of the shootings filled at least half the news hole during that stretch, with 50% of radio airtime and 62% of network TV news coverage. That tops the second-biggest story of the year, the Bush Administration's escalation of U.S. involvement in the Iraq, which managed 34% of coverage January 7-12. The Virginia Tech killings overwhelmed coverage of the other big story of that week: the grilling of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales by a Senate Committee got only 6%.
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