The President’s long-awaited decision on how to wage war in Afghanistan was the No. 1 story last week, surpassing coverage of the two big domestic issues—the economy and health care. But a scandal-scorched athlete and some White House party crashers found their way into the top stories as well.
It was a war that often had trouble breaking into the headlines. But in recent months, with President Obama facing a crucial decision over whether to escalate U.S. involvement, coverage of Afghanistan increased noticeably. And last week, as the policy debate intensified, the story dominated finally the news.
The economic crisis topped the news agenda last week as Wall Street pay packages triggered anger and action in Washington. Agreement on a runoff election also generated a spike in Afghanistan coverage, and hostilities between the White House and Fox News made the roster of top stories.
Health care and the economy generated coverage last week, but the news agenda highlighted three geopolitical problems facing President Obama—negotiating with Iran, fighting in Afghanistan and trying to convince the IOC to bring the Olympics to the U.S.
The passing of the last of the fabled Kennedy brothers easily led last week’s news agenda and generated a host of storylines. And for the first time in more than a month, the fractious health care debate was relegated to the sidelines.
A story that suddenly emerged from nowhere, the threat of a global influenza pandemic, sent the media into overdrive last week. The flu scare knocked a number of significant events out of the headlines and by week’s end, began to spawn a backlash.
For the fourth week in a row, a different component of the faltering economy drove coverage of a crisis now overshadowing every other news event. And the White House and a radio host locked horns in what may actually be a symbiotic relationship.
The big buzz surrounding the Obama transition last week was that once-fierce rival Hillary Clinton might become his Secretary of State. Meanwhile Sarah Palin, shielded from the press during the campaign, made up for lost time with a media blitz.
In a survey last year, Americans named Jon Stewart one of the nation’s most admired journalists, despite the Comedy Central host’s insistence that’s not what he does. A new PEJ content analysis of 136 episodes of The Daily Show examines the intersection of comedy and news that is the key to the show’s success.
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