Indexes

The 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon was a prominent topic on blogs, Twitter and YouTube last week. Bloggers and Tweeters also engaged in some serious speculation about the upcoming edition of the iPhone.

While Barack Obama hit the road to sell his jobs bill, the media reminded him that it will have to get past Congress—a feat that looked more difficult by the day. And once again, Texas Governor Rick Perry emerged as the central figure in a GOP presidential debate that featured a harsh exchange over vaccinations.

News about two major tech companies generated plenty of attention on both blogs and Twitter last week. One involved an abrupt changing of the guard at Yahoo and the other was an interesting addition to the Google portfolio. On YouTube, some strange animals were the top stories.

In a crowded news week, the economy was the top story, followed by an intensifying 2012 presidential race. The week ended with news of a new terror warning and sober reflection on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Did the media overplay Hurricane Irene? What should the media’s role be? Bloggers weighed in strongly last week. And thanks to news about pop star Beyonce, the MTV Video Music Awards set a record on Twitter and were the subject of the most popular video on YouTube.

Even after it had passed, the hurricane that slammed the East Coast continued to be the top news story across the U.S. last week as damage mounted. A scheduling skirmish over a presidential speech made the economy the No. 2 story while the hunt for a deposed dictator was a smaller story than his fleeing the capital.

The resignation of the admired businessman and inventor dominated Twitter for the week, far outpacing a pair of natural disasters on the East Coast. On YouTube an international basketball brawl drew significant attention while bloggers were stunned at the size of our national debt.

There were no late summer news doldrums last week as the apparent conclusion of a civil war and a pair of natural disasters topped the news. The rebel takeover of Libya generated the biggest week of attention to that conflict in five months while an earthquake and a hurricane brought the media focus back to the Northeast United States.

Last week, Google’s purchase of Motorola was big news on both Twitter and in the blogosphere. But Warren Buffet’s financial philosophy also scored high. On blogs, rumors about an upcoming iPhone model and discussion of various 2012 GOP candidates were prominent.

The economy remained the No. 1 story for the ninth consecutive week while the 2012 presidential race continued its recent spike in coverage last week. And dramatic developments regarding Syria and Libya drove Mideast coverage to its highest level in nearly three months.