When the pope came to town, three things happened: Catholics were stricken with pride and guilt; the media went on a coverage rampage; and outlets like the Pew Research Center hit the grid to track what producers, reporters, and writers became obsessed with. Now, three conclusions:

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SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Sprint was the official wireless carrier for Pope Benedict XVI's visit. [BizWire]

The New York press corps has outdone itself with incessant pope coverage, from the tabloids staking out the synagogue he visited, to every local TV news outlet yesterday hitting Ground Zero to cover his prayer for those lost in the World Trade Center attacks, to his final visit, to Yankee Stadium, where he threw out the first pitch. (KIDDING! He led the crowd of 60,000 in a mass service.)

But between yesterday and today, a funny thing happened on the way to the New York Times: You know America, "the land of the free"? Apparently we're merely "a country that prizes individual freedom."

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