Project for Excellence in Journalism

Midterms Coverage Doubles Economy Coverage

by Jesse Holcomb, Research Analyst, Project for Excellence in Journalism
October 13, 2010

Even without major new developments to report, the 2010 midterm elections dominated last week's news -- another indication that the crucial elections are likely to drive coverage for the next month.

From Oct. 4-10, the elections accounted for 25% of the newshole, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. That was down just slightly from the week before, when the subject made up 26%.

Last week marked the fourth straight week in which the elections registered as the top story. And from Sept. 13 to Oct 10, the subject has accounted for 27% of the newshole -- easily outdistancing the No. 2 story in that period, the economy, at 12%. That amount of attention has been fairly consistent, whether there was a tight primary contest being decided -- such as Delaware's GOP Senate race -- or, as was the case this past week, candidates trading barbs and accusations in the long march to November.

Coverage of the midterms more than doubled that of the next biggest story -- the ailing U.S. economy. Last week, the focus of the economic news was less about underwater homeowners than about the banks that were doing the paperwork. Scrutiny of questionable foreclosure practices helped make the economy No. 2 for the week, with 11% of the coverage.

The ninth anniversary of the U.S. involvement in the war in Afghanistan lifted that conflict to the No. 3 spot last week (5%). Sober reflections on the years of war were coupled with fresh reports of NATO casualties.

It was also the week that Nobel prizes were announced. The media chose to focus especially on two of the recipients -- British scientist Robert Edwards, the in vitro fertilization pioneer, and the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. Coverage of the awards and honorees accounted for 4% of the week's news.

Finally, continued coverage of the somewhat vague intelligence warning that U.S. tourists should be careful when traveling in Europe -- because of fears of a terrorist attack -- rounded out the top five stories of the week. Coverage of this and the broader war on terror occupied 4% of the newshole.

Continue reading the full report at journalism.org.