When Sen. Edward Kennedy died late on Tuesday Aug. 25, a year after his 2008 appearance at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, news coverage and online discussion began in earnest as soon as the Kennedy family made the announcement.

By the end of Wednesday (Aug. 26) Kennedy attracted nearly 1% of all blog buzz, according to Nielsen’s BlogPulse search engine, and by Thursday morning (Aug. 27), he was the most-discussed person in the blogosphere. His New York Times obituary was also the most-cited news story among bloggers and the phrase “Ted Kennedy dies” was the phrase used most by bloggers Aug. 26-27.

Consumers posted comments about Kennedy, not only on political and news blogs, but on celebrity blogs as well. Key political blogs where discussion took place included liberal-leaning sites the Huffington Post and Crooks & Liars as well as conservative-leaning sites Michelle Malkin and Hot Air, and differences in opinion were obvious. Comments on liberal-leaning blogs recounted Kennedy’s accomplishments as a champion for labor, the poor and for universal health care, which he called the “cause of my life.” Comments on conservative blogs were much harsher and critical of Kennedy, not only for his politics but also for his personal life.

The month prior to his death, the Senator was increasingly mentioned in conversations surrounding the passage of a health care bill as was his wish to have a successor named quickly upon his passing.

The speech by Sen. Obama was the fifth most-viewed, non-sports program among African American households in the last 11 years.

Highest Rated Programs Among African Americans 1997-2008
Viewers age 2+ (Sports Not Included)

* Persons ratings for African American, Hispanic are % of African American/ Hispanic persons age 2+ in TV homes watching the convention coverage. 2008 Networks Included: Days 1, 2, 3 – ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, BET, TV One Day 4 – ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, BET, TV One, Univision, Telemundo 2004 Networks Included: Days 1, 3, 4 – ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC Day 2 – CNN, FOX News, MSNBC. ABC, CBS, NBC regularly scheduled programs.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the National Review, CBS News, the Boston Herald, and Variety.

Wednesday night’s speeches, which featured Former President Bill Clinton’s endorsement of Senator Obama and Senator Joseph Biden’s acceptance of his party’s nomination for vice president, drew 12.2% of all African American viewers — down slightly from the prevous night when Hillary Clinton addressed the convention (12.7%), but up from day one (12%), when Michelle Obama spoke.

Viewers age 55 and older continue to dominate the DNC’s TV audience, with 18.1% of all Americans in that age group — 12.5 million people — tuning in to Wednesday night’s convention coverage on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, BET, and TV One.

In comparison to day three of the 2004 convention, which drew almost 18 million viewers, the audience for day three of the 2008 convention was still significantly larger (up by a third to 24 million viewers). 

On Wednesday, August 27, 2008, convention coverage varied by network, with all eight networks noted above airing live coverage from approximately 10pm to 11pm EST.

View the full media alert.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in MarketWatch, The New York Times’ “TV Decoder” blog, and Variety.

Tuesday night’s speeches, which featured Senator Hillary Clinton’s much anticipated keynote address, continued to draw a large proportion of African Americans (12.7% of all African American viewers tuned in). 

Viewers age 55 and older also continued to dominate Tuesday night’s TV audience, with 20% of all Americans in that age group watching the convention coverage on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, BET, and TV One.

In comparison to day two of the 2004 convention, which drew 5.9 million viewers, the audience for day two of the 2008 convention was significantly larger (26 million viewers).  In 2004, cable networks provided the only TV coverage of the convention.

On Tuesday, August 26, 2008, convention coverage varied by network, with all eight networks noted above airing live coverage from approximately 10pm to 11:15pm EST.

View the full media alert.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in The Nation, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, New York Daily News, and Variety.

A large percentage of African American households (24%) tuned in for the night’s speeches, which included a keynote address by Michelle Obama. 

Among White households in the U.S., 14.6% watched the convention Monday night, while just 7.3% of Hispanic households tuned in.

Viewers age 55 and older also dominated the TV audience Monday night – 16.6% of all Americans in that age group watched the first night of convention coverage broadcast live during primetime on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, BET, and TV One.

Convention coverage varied by network; all eight networks aired live coverage from approximately 10pm to 11pm EST.

View comparable TV ratings for Day 1 of the 2004 Democratic National Convention (Monday, July 26, 2004).

Read the Los Angeles Times’ coverage of Nielsen’s findings.