Timeline: Top News Stories of 2012
A look at the public’s top 15 news stories of 2012, according to Pew Research Center’s News Interest Index.
Election, Tragedies Dominate 2012 News
The public’s news interests were very much focused on domestic developments this year, with the election outcome, last week’s horrific school shooting and Hurricane Sandy leading the list of the top stories of 2012.
News Coverage for Both Candidates More Negative
Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have received more negative news coverage than positive in the general election, but coverage shifted markedly when the debates began. Obama fared much better in September, while Romney had the edge in October, according to a new study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Internet Gains Most as Campaign News Source, But Cable TV Still Leads
Americans are following the presidential campaign more closely on nearly every news platform than they were earlier in the year.
Health Care News Coverage Wanes; Opponents Won the ‘Messaging’ War
Health care reform largely disappeared as a subject in the American news media as it wended its way through the legal system to the Supreme Court. But during the the political battle over the legislation, opponents of the reform won the so-called “messaging war” in the coverage.
How the Media Covered the 2012 Primary Campaign
Mitt Romney needed 15 weeks once the primary contests began to gain a secure hold over his party’s nomination for president. But he emerged as the conclusive winner in the media narrative about the race six weeks earlier following a narrow win in his native state, Michigan.
Religion in the News
The biggest religion stories of 2011 involved tensions over Islam and questions about faith in presidential politics, especially Mormonism, according to a study of news coverage by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life.
Data: Year in the News
Follow the steps in this interactive to select among media sectors and news coverage categories. The data are based on more than 48,000 stories analyzed in PEJ’s News Coverage Index for the year.
