Thanks to the U.S. presidential primaries and a surge in celebrity news, newspaper and other media Web sites saw a 22 percent rise in visits the week ending February 23, compared to the same week in 2007, Hitwise announced Wednesday.

The surge helped Web sites for U.S. print publications the most, including newspaper and magazine portals, MediaDailyNews reported.

The New York Times site, NYTimes.com, was the big winner, taking 5 percent of total visits, a 50 percent increase in visits over 2007. This is followed by celebrity magazine People.com, with 3 percent, and The Washington Post, washingtonpost.com, with 2 percent, according to MediaDailyNews.