Attention to the crucial midterm congressional elections reached new heights last week, accounting for nearly half the overall news coverage. The top stories also included the economy, a new terror plot, the conflict in Afghanistan and fresh revelations about the BP oil disaster that dominated coverage in the summer. 

This fall’s big story—the 2010  midterm elections—showed little sign of abating last week as some heated campaigns sparked much of the media’s interest. Faulty foreclosure procedures helped make the troubled economy the No. 2 story, while the passing of a milestone in Afghanistan drove coverage of the third-biggest story.

A judge’s decision to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage became a reason to celebrate for many bloggers last week. Others rallied behind the website WikiLeaks, following its release of secret information about the war in Afghanistan. On Twitter, the decision by 40 wealthy Americans to donate money to charity drew the most attention. And on YouTube, an Alabama crime stopper became a web sensation.

Two familiar stories—an economy slow to recover and an oil leak slow to be stopped—generated the most press attention last week. But there was plenty of politics as well including two hot button issues—same-sex marriage and illegal immigration—and the mid-term elections. And after one week of big headlines, Afghanistan coverage plunged.

Coverage of the conflict in Afghanistan got a big boost last week after the WikiLeaks organization unearthed classified reports casting doubts on the prospects for U.S. success there. But in a balanced news week, a key ruling in the Arizona immigration battle, the departure of an embattled BP CEO and a sluggish economy shared the media’s attention.