California’s Budget Propositions Lead a Diverse Online Conversation
In a week in which no single event dominated blogs and social media, the results of a California referendum and the shooting of an up-and-coming rapper led the online conversation.
In a week in which no single event dominated blogs and social media, the results of a California referendum and the shooting of an up-and-coming rapper led the online conversation.
Even by midweek, the media had begun to shift focus from protests in Iran to a political sex scandal in South Carolina. But all that was before the death of the best-selling recording artist whose troubled life and pioneering music made him an icon. By the time the week ended, focus on Michael Jackson’s passing overwhelmed all other media stories.
Bloggers and social media eschewed the economic crisis and European summitry last week to focus on a group of diverse topics ranging from journalism to political activism to environmentalism. Meanwhile the week’s most viewed YouTube video featured a trick shot from a basketball superstar.
Two hot button issues, torture and same-sex marriage, were the leading subjects sparking conversation online last week.
With the AIG bonuses fueling outrage, the economic crisis received more attention from the social media last week than any other topic since PEJ began its NMI two months ago. And the week’s most viewed video was a casting call that turned into a stampede.
The online community was focused on two subjects that received little attention in the mainstream press last week—the debate over gay marriage and the death of a man at the G20 Summit.
The financial crisis dominated the news for the seventh week in a row as earmarks, bailouts, and talk of a second stimulus package helped fuel the narrative. And with Bernard Madoff heading to jail, greed and excess were recurring themes in the news.
The economic crisis again dominated blogs and social media last week, as the conversation expanded from AIG to several different elements of the financial meltdown. And the most viewed video was an overseas variation on the same theme.
The most prominent narrative in social media online last week shifted from the stimulus bill to a critique of Obama’s first month in office. While the economic crisis was still a large topic, a policy change at Facebook created an uproar that forced the site to then change course.
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