Delegate Counting

The other day a friend and I were discussing the whole so-called momentum focus of the media.  And he wondered why the media focused so much on "winning a primary" when the victory for receiving a party's nomination is based on the delegates that a candidate brings to a convention and the votes that they cast there.

While this may sound more like a matter of semantics than reflection on the political process, it isn't.  What is the image of the contests that are being portrayed in the media?  What are the reasons for not examining in more detail the process of winning and selecting delegates?

I thought that was an interesting point.  Why does the media focus on the vote win in a primary or caucus but not the delegates?  I have to agree with my friend that we need much more coverage of the delegates -- who they are, what they represent, and what they will do (or not do) at the convention.

After Florida, the following are the total delegate counts:
Republican (1,191 needed to win)
McCain (95)
Romney (59)
Huckabee (40)
Giuliani (1)
Paul (4)

Democrat (2,025 needed to win)
Clinton (48)
Obama (63)
Edwards (26)

For example, imagine if Edwards had stayed in the race and continued to grab a few delegates here and there.  Is it possible that he could have played a much bigger role at the convention? Why aren't we discussing the delegates? Its like hiding behind the word democracy but not thinking about the actual process used.