From May 18 through June 2, Meltwater tabulated $138 million in advertising value equivalency for those three subjects. Most of the coverage — almost $88 million — was rated “neutral.”

Only $326,604 worth was rated positive, and more than half of that was attributed to Republican state Rep. Jadine Nollan’s column in the Sand Springs Leader.

There’s a lot to quibble about with an analysis such as this. In dollar value and reach, the biggest story by far mentions Oklahoma only in passing. But it appeared on both MSN.com (not to be confused with MSNBC) and in the Washington Post, and its total advertising value equivalency works out to $8.3 million.

Some might dismiss the results as more of a reflection on the media than on Oklahoma politics. By and large, Oklahomans are not known to particularly care what the Washington Post or the New York Times thinks of them.

But a lot of other people — people who might come to the state for a job or to start a business — do care.