Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Project for Excellence in Journalism
Media Weigh Tax Deal
Driven by the Beltway version of a man-bites-dog story -- President Obama aligning with Republicans and fighting with Democrats -- last week's tax skirmish pushed coverage of the U.S. economy to a new high in 2010.
For the week of Dec. 6-12, the story of the economy filled 40% of the newshole, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence weekly index of news coverage. That easily surpassed the previous week's level (28%), which itself represented the most media attention to the topic since March 2009.
Last week's coverage focused almost entirely on one issue -- the deal between Obama and Republicans extending the Bush-era tax cuts -- which many analysts viewed as a clear sign that the president was moving to the center after the rebuke delivered in the midterm elections.
Adding fuel to last week's coverage was the dramatic, if temporary, Washington realignment set in motion by the agreement. While a number of Republicans lauded the deal -- which also included an extension of unemployment benefits and several incentives for business -- Obama found the liberal wing of his party in open revolt. Those strange politics help explain why ideological radio and cable talk hosts drove coverage last week.
Indeed, the economy, particularly the tax deal, accounted for a whopping 77% of the airtime studied on the cable and radio talk shows.
The No. 2 story, for the second week in a row, was the WikiLeaks saga in the aftermath of its release of sensitive State Department documents, which filled 10% of the newshole. The bulk of the coverage centered on the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on sexual assault charges and the cyber revenge taken by his supporters.
The week's third biggest story (at 5%), was the death of Elizabeth Edwards. The estranged wife of the scandal plagued former senator and presidential candidate, John Edwards, died very quickly after the sobering news that doctors had advised her to discontinue her treatment for cancer.
Afghanistan, which accounted for 4% of the newshole, was the fourth biggest story of the week. That was followed, at 2%, by last week's conviction of Brian David Mitchell for the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart in Utah.