Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Project for Excellence in Journalism

Stories of 2009: Public vs. Press

December 29, 2009

The troubled economy and efforts to revamp the nation's health care system dominated the public's news interest in 2009. From the year's start, Americans kept a close watch on the unfolding economic crisis, as well as Barack Obama's efforts to grapple with the crisis while trying to make good on campaign promises.

For the third week of January, for example, 57% of Americans said they followed news about the condition of the U.S. economy very closely, the highest percentage following any story that closely all year. That same week, 52% said they followed news about Obama's inauguration very closely. More than four-in-ten (42%) said the installation of the nation's first African American president was the story they had followed most closely that week, according to the Pew Research Center's weekly News Interest Index.

Those two topics -- the economy and the new administration -- then played a part in many of the top stories of 2009. In the second half of the year, the public's focus shifted more to the debate over overhauling the nation's health care system. Interest in health care reform grew in late summer -- while Congress was in recess -- as many lawmakers faced angry constituents at town hall meetings in their districts. Interest remained high as the debate unfolded in Washington. 

For the public, breaking stories grabbed attention as well, such as the dramatic landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, the death of pop star Michael Jackson and the shootings last month at the Fort Hood army base. Americans also closely followed news about the spread of the swine flu and of a vaccine. This proved to be one of several story lines this year for which public interest at times exceeded coverage, especially during the flu's fall outbreak.

For 2009, however, there is a general correspondence between the stories that attracted the most interest on the News Interest Index and those that received the most coverage according to PEJ's News Coverage Index. Each week, the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) monitors the amount of coverage devoted to major stories by newspapers, television, radio and online news outlets.

More Coverage than Interest

This year, the media's top stories generally reflected the public's top interests: The economic crisis, the new administration and the health care debate were the most covered news stories. But there were a number of occasions when news coverage exceeded the public's interest and vice versa.

For example, the public expressed only modest interest in several heavily covered stories about events in Washington and politics. Stories about the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy accounted for more than a quarter (27%) of the newshole the week of Aug. 24, making it the most heavily reported story of the week. But that week, the health care debate dominated public interest, although it accounted for just 11% of the newshole: 30% said health care was the story they followed most closely that week, compared with 17% who said the same about news about Kennedy's death.

Sonia Sotomayor's historic nomination to the Supreme Court was another story that generated more coverage than interest. Stories about the first Latina nominated to the high court took up about a quarter (24%) of the newshole the week of May 25, making it the most reported story of that week. At that point, the story ranked third in public interest (15% most closely), behind the economy (20%) and news that GM planned to file for bankruptcy (18%).

In mid-July, stories about Sotomayor's confirmation hearings made up 22% of coverage, again making it the top story of the week. But Americans were more focused on the economy (21%), health care reform (21%) and the aftermath of Michael Jackson's death (17%); 14% said they followed the hearings more closely than any other story.

Sen. Arlen Specter's switch to the Democratic Party and the release of Sarah Palin's book, "Going Rogue," also provide examples of coverage for national political stories that exceeded public interest. Specter's switch, a critical story because it gave Democrats a more effective Senate majority, accounted for 9% of coverage the week of April 27; 3% of the public said this was the story they followed most closely.

Stories about Palin's book took up 8% of the newshole the week of Nov. 16, while 2% said this was the story they followed most closely that week. Just 10% said they followed news about Palin's book very closely.

More Interest than Coverage

The public took an early interest in the health care debate in March, when Obama talked about initial plans for overhauling the system, and remained highly interested until year's end. About a quarter (26%) said health care was the story they followed most closely the week of March 2. News about health care, though, made up just 4% of the newshole. At that point, the economic crisis and stock market troubles dominated news coverage (43% of coverage).

Public interest and media coverage of the health care debate spiked in the summer, as lawmakers struggled to come to terms on legislation before their recess and then faced angry constituents during their break. Interest generally remained strong in the fall, even in weeks where there was little new on the story. In the Dec. 4-7 news interest survey, for example, 29% said they were following the health care debate more closely than any other story. That made health care the most closely followed story of that week. The coverage, as measured by PEJ, amounted to 5% of the newshole.

Early this year, the public showed strong interest in the stimulus legislation pushed by Obama to help jump start the troubled economy. In early February, the media and the public were largely in sync. By the week of Feb. 16, Congress had cleared a measure and Obama had signed it into law. That week, the media divided coverage among several major economic stories. Reports on the stimulus took up 9% of the newshole, compared with 28% the previous week. But the public remained keenly interested: 35% said this was the story they followed most closely. No other story that week came close.

The safe landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River attracted significant public interest in mid-January, a rare story of a plane crash with a happy ending. More than four-in-ten (44%) said they followed the story very closely, while 25% said it was the story they followed most closely that week. But the river landing and rescue occurred on a Thursday, well into PEJ's weekly tally of news coverage, and accounted for only 12% of the total newshole measured for the week. The story did account for 29% of coverage for the remainder of the week, according to PEJ, putting coverage more in line with interest immediately after the incident.

In mid-April, the public also took a strong interest in news about the modern-day pirates who were capturing ships off the coast of Somalia and holding them hostage. With 34% saying they were following this story more closely than any other, the pirates topped the News Interest Index the week of April 13. The story did get significant media attention (16% of coverage), but the economy drew slightly more news coverage that week (18%).

Continue reading the full report, including more graphics of the year's media matches and mismatches, at people-press.org.