Journalism

Several big events vied for the attention of the media last week. But for the second time in two months, a major overseas presidential foray topped the news agenda when it demonstrated Barack Obama’s dramatically different approach to foreign policy.

Over the last two months the issue of same-sex marriage has become the hottest topic in the blogosphere, generating far more attention than in the mainstream media.Last week it was the California court ruling upholding the state’s gay marriage ban that dominated the conversation.

Even as many observers predicted Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor would win confirmation, the first days of coverage were defined by harsh rhetoric and ideological combat. It was another example of the media’s enduring affinity for the conflict frame of news.

In a week in which no single event dominated blogs and social media, the results of a California referendum and the shooting of an up-and-coming rapper led the online conversation.

In the last several weeks, terrorism has topped the news agenda more often than the economic crisis. As last week’s dueling Cheney-Obama speeches showed, that’s what happens when a hot-button topic becomes the Beltway’s primary political fault line.

As was the case with the mainstream media, interrogation techniques and the President’s reversal on the release of prisoner photos led the blogosphere conversation last week.

As attention to the economy dropped, the nation’s anti-terrorism policies dominated the news agenda for the second time in the past month. Since the release of the interrogation memos, coverage of this topic has jumped dramatically.

Bloggers and social media balanced their attention last week among a wide array of subjects that differed dramatically from top stories in the mainstream media.