Search results for: “headline”

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.

Yes, Michelle Obama set some hearts a flutter and generated some headlines when she laid hands on the Queen last week. But most of the coverage of the President’s overseas trip focused on the same challenge he faces at home.

Another aspect of the financial crisis took center stage last week as the storyline moved from the AIG bonuses to Tim Geithner’s plan for “toxic assets” in the financial sector. The verdict is far from final, but Geithner seemed to at least stem a recent run of negative news.

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.

Coverage of the financial meltdown dropped to its lowest level in months last week as Somali pirates, a trip to Turkey, a deadly earthquake and a defiant missile launch dominated the news agenda. Is it a trend or an anomaly?

Last week, the economic meltdown generated its highest weekly level of coverage since the crisis exploded last fall. And the majority of media attention was focused on a three-letter acronym that became a four-letter word.