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Project for Excellence in Journalism
Hurricane Earl Spares East Coast, But Hits Media
Two potential disasters and an almost forgotten war helped drive the mainstream news agenda in a week in which a number of events vied for the media's attention.
The top story from Aug. 30-Sept. 5 was Hurricane Earl, which accounted for 13% of the newshole, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. The huge storm triggered FEMA warnings, evacuations and at times, near apocalyptic media coverage. But by week's end, Earl ended more with a whimper than a bang as the East Coast dodged a meteorological bullet.
Another dramatic event that ended far less disastrously than it could have was the No. 5 story. The Sept. 1 hostage situation at Discovery's Maryland headquarters -- an event that played out for an afternoon cable audience -- filled 5% of the total newshole. The crisis ended after a few hours when police shot and killed the perpetrator, James Lee. But no one else was injured.
The week's No. 2 story was the economy, which filled 9% of the newshole, the same level as the previous week. News about the employment situation was the top storyline, with a mixed jobs report that wasn't as bad as feared, but failed to reverse the gloomy tenor of late.
The third biggest story (also 9%) was the 2010 midterm election cycle, which is clearly linked to the fragile economy. It is also a subject that is quickly becoming a staple of the media menu. While coverage was down from the previous week (14%), this marked the fifth straight week that it finished among the top five stories as bad tidings for Democrats and a shaky GOP debate performance helped fuel coverage.
The week's fourth biggest story was a new chapter in a war that seems to have gradually slipped from public and media consciousness. With President Obama announcing the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq during an Aug. 31 speech, coverage of the conflict filled 8% of the newshole. However temporary, that marks a significant spike in attention to Iraq, which in 2010 has accounted for only 1% of the coverage monitored by PEJ.
In a sign of a busy news week, two stories that might have normally generated more coverage finished outside the roster of top five stories. The re-start of crucial Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations in Washington was No. 6, at 5% of the newshole. And the fallout from radio and Fox News talk host Glenn Beck's large and controversial Aug. 28 rally at the Lincoln Memorial was next, at 4%.
Continue reading the full report at journalism.org.