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Project for Excellence in Journalism
Blogs in Sync with Mainstream Media on Budget, Egypt
Though it doesn't often happen, the social and mainstream media were in sync last week as bloggers focused on two primary topics -- the U.S. budget and Middle East unrest.
For the week of Feb. 14-18, 22% of the news links on blogs were about President Obama's $3.73 trillion budget proposal, according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. That subject, along with the state budget strife in Wisconsin, topped the mainstream media agenda as well last week.
The president's budget proposal included a projected $1.6 trillion deficit, which was a concern for bloggers on both sides of the political aisle. However, conservatives and liberals linked to dueling columns from the Washington Post to support their differing views of the economic debate.
Conservatives highlighted a Washington Post editorial criticizing Obama for refusing to include tough choices about entitlement reform in his proposal. Liberals focused on a piece by Dana Milbank in which he accused House Speaker John Boehner of hypocrisy for saying that jobs are his party's first priority, but appearing indifferent to layoffs that could occur if the GOP's budget cuts were passed.
The second story on blogs, at 21%, was the situation in Egypt following the protests and the Feb. 11 resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. Two weeks earlier, the upheaval in Egypt had dominated the blogosphere, accounting for 57% of that week's links.
Turmoil in another Mideast country also made the list of top subjects, as another 6% of the links went to a report about anti-government protests in Iran that drew inspiration from the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. In the mainstream press, coverage of Iran and unrest elsewhere in the region accounted for 26% of the newshole.
While there was widespread support for Egypt's pro-democracy movement throughout social media, last week bloggers turned their attention to the difficult questions facing the country as it transitions to whatever form the new government will take. Additionally, a few bloggers took a more activist role by participating in an online campaign to encourage the world community to freeze Mubarak's assets.
The No. 3 story on blogs, at 10%, involved Wal-Mart and the city of Washington, D.C. A Washington Post article on a new store being built in the Northeast part of the city quoted residents about both their hopes and fears of having a Wal-Mart in their community.
Rounding out the roster of top subjects last week (at 6%) was a summary of the recent Conservative Political Action Conference where Washington Post writer Chris Cillizza declared which politicians came out of the conference as winners (such as Mitt Romney and Mitch Daniels) and which were losers (such as Ron Paul and Rick Santorum).
On Twitter last week, the list of top subjects was dominated by web-based technology news.
The top subject, with 16% of the links, was Twitter itself, although with a British-twist. Most of the attention went to a list in the British Independent of the 100 most influential and elite people on Twitter in the UK. Among others, the list includes politicians, actors, musicians, journalists, and scientists. Comedian Eddie Izzard was ranked No. 3 while broadcaster and Larry King replacement Piers Morgan was tied for No. 62.