One GOP candidate has not only soared in the polls recently, he’s become the focal point of news coverage as well. A presidential speech drove coverage of the week’s No. 2 story, the economy.
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.
Domestic and foreign conflicts—from Madison to Tripoli—generated plenty of attention in social media last week, with users opining and relaying breaking news. On YouTube, scenes of Mideast unrest once again made the roster of most popular videos.
President Obama’s deficit reduction plan set off a partisan skirmish that generated major headlines last week. The second biggest story, the presidential campaign, was marked by a shaky debate performance by GOP frontrunner Rick Perry. And the latest chapter in the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict registered as the No. 3 topic.
Two very different issues led the conversation on the blogosphere last week: the record U.S. deficit and the post-Mubarak transformation in Egypt. On Twitter, the No. 1 topic was self-referential— a list of influential English people who use Twitter.
The stalemate over deficit reduction and the entry of another candidate into the crowded 2012 presidential race made the economy and election the two leading stories last week. Meanwhile media attention to Afghanistan fell dramatically, highlighting the episodic and uneven coverage of that decade-old conflict.
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