Mine Accident Captivates Media
A tragic mine explosion in West Virginia led the news last week, with about twice the amount of coverage given to the next biggest story: the still-ailing U.S. economy.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
A tragic mine explosion in West Virginia led the news last week, with about twice the amount of coverage given to the next biggest story: the still-ailing U.S. economy.
Summary of Findings Americans say they tracked news about the newly enacted health care reform law more closely than other major news stories last week, though the health care debate did not dominate coverage as it had during the final votes in Congress late last month. Close to half the public (48%) followed news about […]
News meets a mixture of social, civic, personally-enriching, and work-related needs in people’s lives. The 93% of Americans who say they follow the news at least occasionally report a variety of reasons for doing so. Surprisingly, the most popular reasons for following the news do not relate to personal entertainment or professional motivations. Instead, they […]
The top reasons people follow the news News meets a mixture of social, civic, personally-enriching, and work-related needs in people’s lives. The 93% of Americans who say they follow the news at least occasionally report a variety of reasons for doing so. Surprisingly, the most popular reasons for following the news do not relate to […]
As the health care bill neared passage in the House last week, it was by far the most popular topic on blogs, stirring a passionate and sometimes angry debate. On Twitter, a number of technology-focused stories led the way. And on YouTube, Jesse Ventura’s view on conspiracy theories was among the most popular videos.
The controversial immigration law in Arizona sparked significant interest in the blogosphere last week, as it did in the mainstream media. But the social media also focused intently on a story that was largely absent in the MSM—the question of whether we on earth should consider E.T. a friend or foe.
The travel delays and cancelled flights caused by the eruption of an Icelandic volcano dominated the conversation among bloggers last week. But an Iranian cleric’s claim that immodest women were to blame for earthquakes generated its fair share of attention. On Twitter, stories about Apple’s iPhone and iPad received the most links.
This week’s News Coverage Index examines the agenda in one media sector—daily newspapers. And it reveals that the unanswered questions about the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner were still dominating coverage a week after the event occurred. Meanwhile, the state of the economy was the week’s second-biggest topic.
Amid good news on jobs, storms in the Northeast and the arrest of a radical Christian militia, the news agenda was more unusually diverse last week with eight different stories gaining substantial attention.
A natural disaster, a tragic accident and complaints about Obama’s handling of the media shared attention in a very mixed news week that is somewhat atypical for the blogosphere. On Twitter, stories about Google led a week along with news that the Library of Congress is archiving Tweets.