Project for Excellence in Journalism

Debt Talks and Suprise Verdict Top Media Agenda

by Jesse Holcomb, Research Analyst, Project for Excellence in Journalism
July 12, 2011

Two dramatic events -- reports of a potential breakthrough in deadlocked deficit talks and the verdict in the Casey Anthony murder trial -- drove the dominant news stories last week.

Fueled by coverage of the high-stakes deficit negotiations, the economy accounted for 24% of the newshole last week, making it the No. 1 story from July 4-10, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.

That coverage was up from 19% the previous week and marked the third week in a row that the impasse over the deficit and debt ceiling has made the economy the No. 1 story. Last week, the deficit debate accounted for about two-thirds of the overall economy coverage and by week's end, a flurry of optimism about a deal was replaced in the media narrative by the prospect of more deadlock.

The murder trial of Casey Anthony, the Florida woman accused of killing her two-year-old daughter, made headlines last week with a not-guilty verdict that surprised many and provoked outbursts of public anger. The case was the No. 2 story, at 17% of the newshole.

The dramatic conclusion of the trial, the ensuing analysis and finally, the sentencing, were given heavy play on television news. The case was the No. 1 story on both network news (18%) and cable news (38%), and proved to be a major boon for CNN's sibling channel HLN, whose ratings spiked 1,700% on the afternoon of the trial's conclusion.

The intense interest in the Anthony case last week drove it far past other trials in terms of coverage of a verdict. Since January 2007, when PEJ began monitoring news, the next biggest story involving the conclusion of a case was when Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff pleaded guilty to bilking his investors during the week of March 9-15, 2009 -- an event that accounted for 7% of the newshole.

In a rare event, the media themselves became a major news subject last week when the British tabloid News of the World -- part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire -- became embroiled in a phone hacking scandal that included murder victims and the families of dead soldiers. It was the No. 3 story, at 6% of the newshole, as Murdoch shut down News of the World amid speculation that fallout from the case could spread.

The final launch of space shuttle Atlantis from the Kennedy Space Center, which prompted some nostalgia laden coverage, was No. 4 at 5%.

The presidential campaign, which had been a mainstay of the news agenda for weeks, dropped to just 3% last week from 13% the previous week, registering as the No. 5 story. Most of the coverage was focused on the field of GOP hopefuls.

Learn more about these stories by reading the full report at journalism.org.