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Project for Excellence in Journalism
Budget Battles Lead the News
After several weeks of being overshadowed by Middle East turmoil, domestic policy and politics returned to the news with a vengeance last week.
At the same time, coverage of the often violent unrest in the Muslim world fell by almost half, even as democracy movements spread from Egypt to Bahrain and Libya.
For the week of Feb. 14-20, two pitched budget battles -- one in Washington, the other in Madison, Wis. -- drove coverage of economic issues to 35% of the newshole, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. That marks the most economy-related coverage in a single week since Dec. 6-12, 2010, when it reached 40% of the newshole studied by PEJ's weekly News Coverage Index.
Taken together, three storylines -- Obama's $3.73 trillion budget, the deficit, and state budget crises highlighted by Wisconsin protests over the governor's attempt to cut union benefits and bargaining power -- accounted for more than 80% of the week's economic coverage.
Meanwhile, protests in the Middle East continued to generate major attention for the fourth week in a row, although that coverage was diminished and the venues shifted. At 22% of the newshole, coverage was down from 40% the previous week and 56% the week before that. The unrest in Egypt -- which dominated recent coverage and resulted in President Hosni Mubarak Feb. 11 departure -- accounted for less than half of last week's Mideast coverage.
Instead, as the democratization drive in Egypt turned from dramatic protests to a political process, the cameras moved to the streets of Benghazi, Libya and Manama, Bahrain where demonstrations provoked violent reactions from authorities.
Coverage of another country in the region, Iran, accounted for an additional 4% last week. Much of that also involved anti-government rallies, including major demonstrations on Feb. 14. But some included assessments of Iran's nuclear program as well as the sailing of two Iranian ships through the Suez Canal for the first time in more than three decades -- a development Israel viewed with alarm.
The week's No. 4 story (3%) was coverage of the Obama administration itself, including his awarding of the Medal of Freedom to 15 recipients, including former President George H.W. Bush.
The week's fifth-biggest story, at 2%, was continuing coverage of the Jan. 8 Tucson shooting that killed six and seriously wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Some of last week's coverage included the revelation that one firefighter, since resigned, declined to go to the crime scene that day, reportedly because he had some political differences with other firefighters.