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Project for Excellence in Journalism
Government Shutdown Threat Shuts Out Foreign News
Last week, the U.S. news media turned inward.
For the first time in nearly two months, a domestic- -- rather than international -- crisis led the news as the threat of a government shutdown (averted at nearly the last second) was the No. 1 story. A closely related topic, the overall economy, driven by Rep. Paul Ryan's controversial 2012 budget blueprint, was the second-biggest topic.
The two domestic issues combined to fill 40% of the newshole from April 4-10, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. The two overseas events that have been dominating the news in recent weeks -- turmoil in the Middle East and the earthquake in Japan -- accounted for less than half as much attention (18%). Just one week earlier, those foreign stories accounted for 50% of the overall coverage compared with only 15% for the economy and the threat of a shutdown.
The looming government shutdown, avoided with a late-night compromise on April 8, topped the news last week, at 29%. For much of the week, the narrative functioned as a countdown clock to a potential stoppage, zigging and zagging as prospects for a deal rose and fell. Both sides also used the media to amplify strategic talking points, as Democrats portrayed Republicans as fighting over social issues and Republicans depicted Democrats as wavering on spending cuts.
The shutdown maneuvering was the top story in four of the five media sectors studied. But as is often the case with a politically charged issue, it generated the most attention by far in the cable news sector -- accounting for more than half the airtime (53%) studied by PEJ.
The week's No. 2 story, at 11%, was the U.S. economy, which prominently featured Ryan's dramatic 2012 budget blueprint that contains major spending cuts and significant changes to Medicare and Medicaid. The economy was the top story, 21%, in the newspaper sector.
The third-biggest story, also at 11%, was the turmoil in the Middle East, dominated again by the civil war in Libya. But the real news is how precipitously coverage dropped from the previous week, when it accounted for 38% of the newshole. Last week marked the lowest level of Mideast coverage since the story exploded in the U.S. media with massive protests in Egypt in late January.
The No. 4 subject, at 7%, was coverage of the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Coverage has steadily diminished in recent weeks and is down from 12% the previous week.
The fifth-biggest story, at 5%, involved U.S. anti-terrorism efforts with coverage fueled by the news that the U.S. will try alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a military court at Guantanamo Bay.