Project for Excellence in Journalism

In the Blogosphere, Calls for Bipartisanship and Confrontation

January 27, 2011

Last week in the mainstream media much of the commentary about the Jan. 8 Tucson shootings reverted back to partisan bickering over the tone and impact of political vitriol. But in the social media, the post-Tucson conversation was kinder and gentler. Generally bloggers applauded a display of unity and bipartisanship.

For the week of Jan. 17-21, fully 17% of the news links on blogs went to a Washington Post op-ed by Republican Sen. John McCain commending President Obama for his speech at the Jan. 12 memorial service for those killed and injured in the Arizona shootings according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.

In a conversation dominated by liberals and moderates, those bloggers overwhelmingly praised McCain's piece for showing what a reasonable discourse that reached across political lines would look like. Many also expressed surprise and respect for McCain, who they felt reverted to an earlier phase of his career when he was known for his independence and willingness to compromise.

The other major political subject that gained substantial interest in the blogosphere last week (the No. 3 story at 15%), was a piece by conservative columnist George Will, which suggested confrontation more than cooperation. The new 112th Congress, Will believes, needs to reassert its position and stand up to Obama's agenda. Conservative bloggers strongly backed Will's column, although there was some skepticism about whether the Republicans in Congress would be willing to take on the president in this way.

Two other top stories on blogs last week involved major domestic issues. The fourth-biggest story was health care at 14%, a subject that has not been among the top topics online in almost four months. Most of the attention focused on a new government study written about in a Washington Post story showing that as many as 129 million Americans younger than the age of 65 have preexisting medical problems that are red flags for health insurers.

The economy was the fifth-largest subject at 8% as bloggers linked to reports about the size of the U.S. government's debt, now at $14 trillion, and global efforts to slow down rising food costs.

The No. 2 story last week, at 16%, was back by popular demand. Bloggers linked to the same BBC interview with Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer that made the list of top stories the previous week. Bloggers focused on Ballmer's hint that Microsoft will support the use of Kinect motion controllers with PCs sometime soon.

Read more about the other top stories on blogs and twitter in the full report at journalism.org.