Brian Williams, Katie Couric, and Charlie Gibson all talked about Anna Nicole Smith’s death on their February 8 newscasts.
| Network Evening News Percent of Newshole Devoted to Major Stories Feb 8 – March 2, 2007 |
||
| Story | Commercial Networks |
PBS |
| Iraq policy debate | 8% | 21% |
| Iraq homefront | 6 | 17 |
| Events in Iraq | 10 | 6 |
| Campaign 2008 | 5 | 3 |
| Anna Nicole Smith | 2 | 3 |
| Source: PEJ News Coverage Index | ||
[1]
And one program did not offer a single utterance on the subject. Public broadcasting’s nightly “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” spent no time covering Smith’s death and the many legal battles that ensued.
| Newspapers Percent of Newshole Devoted to top 5 Stories Feb 9 – March 2, 2007 |
|
| Story | % |
| Campaign 2008 | 8 |
| Events in Iraq | 7 |
| Iran | 6 |
| Iraq Homefront | 6 |
| North Korea | 3 |
| Source: PEJ News Coverage Index | |
After their initial burst of interest, the 13 newspapers in our sample also dropped the Smith story from Page One, producing a total of only seven front-page stories and about 7,000 words on the subject throughout the more than three weeks. Constituting only 1% of the overall front page newshole, the Smith episode was the 13th biggest newspaper story in that period. It generated less coverage even than the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina or the health care debate. The top three stories in newspapers during the period were the 2008 campaign (8%), events in Iraq (7%) and tensions between the U.S. relations and Iran (6%).
| Online Percent of Newshole Devoted to top 6 Stories Feb 9 – March 2, 2007 |
|
| Story | % |
| Events in Iraq | 13 |
| Iraq Policy Debate | 9 |
| Campaign 2008 | 9 |
| Iran | 6 |
| Snowstorms | 4 |
| Anna Nicole Smith | 4 |
| Source: PEJ News Coverage Index | |
Online media and radio news gave the story somewhat more attention, but came nowhere near matching cable’s intensity. Overall, the Web sites examined by PEJ ran 17 pieces on Smith, making it the sixth biggest online story at 4%. It lagged behind the subject of growing tension with Iran and severe winter weather and finished just ahead of U.S. relations with North Korea.
The story also filled 4% of the newshole in radio, where it was the fifth biggest topic, right behind global warming and just ahead of the conflict with Iran.
| Radio Percent of Newshole Devoted to top 5 Stories Feb 8 – March 2, 2007 |
|
| Story | % |
| Iraq Policy Debate | 21 |
| Campaign 2008 | 11 |
| Events in Iraq | 5 |
| Global Warming | 4 |
| Anna Nicole Smith | 4 |
| Source: PEJ News Coverage Index | |
The radio sector includes a number of both conservative and liberal talkhosts (as well as NPR programming and top-of-the-hour headline reads). But even in a platform that can thrive on scandal and controversy, the events surrounding Smith’s death did not gain serious traction. In the three weeks, the topic filled just 5% of the talk radio menu, getting only about 40 minutes of airtime. And when the radio talkers did address the issue, it was often to criticize what they considered excessive media attention.
“Another drugged-out starlet collapses and dies and all the news of the world stops,” bellowed conservative host Michael Savage. “Frankly, I’m sick of the news.”
[Smith]
