---
title: "Year in the News 2011"
description: "The faltering U.S. economy was the No. 1 story in the American news media in 2011, with coverage increasing substantially from a year earlier when economic unease helped alter the political landscape in the midterm elections, according to The Year in the News 2011, a new report conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism."
date: "2012-03-19"
authors:
  - name: "Mark Jurkowitz"
    job_title: "Senior Writer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/mark-jurkowitz/"
  - name: "Tom Rosenstiel"
    job_title: "Guest Contributor"
  - name: "Amy Mitchell"
    job_title: "Former Director, Journalism Research"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/amy-mitchell/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2012/03/19/year-in-the-news-2011/"
categories:
  - "State of the News Media (Project)"
---

# Year in the News 2011