---
title: "Limited Coverage of Longest War"
description: "So far in 2010, just 2.8% of the newshole has been devoted to the war in Afghanistan."
date: "2010-06-18"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2010/06/18/limited-coverage-of-longest-war/"
categories:
  - "Rural, Urban and Suburban Communities"
---

# Limited Coverage of Longest War

The war in Afghanistan recently passed Vietnam as the longest-running war in the history of the United States. In 2010, some eight-plus years after the start of military action, the conflict is receiving scant attention from the U.S. press.Through early June, the war hadfilled only 2.8% of the total newshole for the year with coverage declining from 3.3% of the newshole in the first quarter of the year to 2% in the second. The war last saw a spike in media attention in late 2009 as President Obama was making a decision about escalating the American troop presence in Afghanistan. In fact, the war filled 9.5% of the newshole in the fourth quarter of 2009 and trailed only the health care debate and the economy on the roster of top stories. [Read More](http://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/numbers_report/Americas_longest_war_fights_for_attention)