The first big East Coast snowstorm of the winter season beat out the economy and domestic terrorism as the top story last week, according to a special web news edition of PEJ’s weekly News Coverage Index. And defeated Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell, a magnet for media coverage during the 2010 campaign, returned to the spotlight, but not on the most flattering of terms.
The blogosphere resembled one of those old CNN Crossfire shows last week as liberals and conservatives frequently faced off on such issues as federal assistance programs, charges of bigotry and opposition to President Obama.
The January 8 Arizona assault stunned the nation and became one of the biggest stories in recent years. A PEJ analysis of mainstream and social media coverage and commentary reveals which element of the story made the most news, whether President Obama’s speech changed the narrative, how Sarah Palin was covered and how much attention the issue of gun control generated.
The economy topped the news for the sixth straight week, while a string of tragedies—the death of a top diplomat, the suicide of Bernie Madoff’s son, and the suicide of an unstable Florida gunman—also made headlines. And health care, after months of absence, returned to the news in a significant way.
Attention to the crucial midterm congressional elections reached new heights last week, accounting for nearly half the overall news coverage. The top stories also included the economy, a new terror plot, the conflict in Afghanistan and fresh revelations about the BP oil disaster that dominated coverage in the summer.
Most Americans say they enjoy keeping up with the news, but the proportion saying they enjoy following the news a lot has declined. Currently 45% say they enjoy following the news a lot, while 36% say they enjoy this a little and 18% say not much or not at all. In each of the past […]