Who Made Headlines on Capitol Hill?

Several lawmakers central to the health care battle were among the most prominently covered legislative newsmakers in 2009—including the late senator closely most associated with the issue. What other members of Congress found themselves in the news last year? And why?

• 31% — Barack Obama -- News Coverage of His First Year
• 19.7% — The Leno Effect
• 3rd — When Off-the-Field Exploits Make Major News
• 1.5% — Global Warming Generates Little Heat in the Media
• No. 5 — Palin in the Public Eye
• 13:1 — The Dobbs Difference
• 2nd — The Fort Hood Tragedy - When Crime Makes News
• 317% — A Bull Market for Overseas News
• 45% — The War in Afghanistan as a Washington Story
• #3 — Foreign Leaders in U.S. Headlines
• 5:1 — Swine Flu in the Spotlight
• 9% — When Mother Nature Becomes a Story
• No. 1 — Terror Cases in the News
• 6th — Which Lawmakers are also Headline Makers?

How News Happens

A new PEJ study investigates where news comes from in today’s rapidly changing media landscape. An examination of local media in Baltimore provides insight on how the U.S. media ecosystem works. What role do new media, blogs and specialty news sites play in the news cycle? Who is breaking news? Which reports advanced the story? The study answers these questions and more.

• Hispanics in the News
• Covering the Great Recession
• The Starting Line--Media Coverage of the Faith-Based Initiative in the First Six Months of 2001 and 2009
• Grim Employment Picture for Communication Grads
• Health News Coverage in the U.S. Media, Early 2009
• Swine Flu Coverage around the World
• Obama's First 100 Days
• Pros and Cons of Measuring Web Traffic--A PEJ Discussion Point
• Online Journalists Express Uneasy Optimism about their Industry
• Local TV News Reports a Drop in Revenue, Ratings
• Radio Is Well Suited For Digital Transition
• Who Fared Best (and Worst) in 2008?

Twitter and YouTube Continue to Focus on Haiti while Blogs Move On: January 18-22, 2010

The recovery efforts following the tragic earthquake in Haiti continued to be the main subject of interest in parts of social media last week—particularly on Twitter and YouTube. Blogs also discussed details of the quake’s aftermath, but the blogosphere paid more attention to other topics, including warnings from European countries about security risks involved with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

• NCI — A Disaster and an Election Drive the News: January 18-24, 2010
• NMI — Social Media Aid the Haiti Relief Effort: January 11-15, 2010
• NMI — Social Media Leads with Sex and Love: January 4-8, 2010
• NCI — From Detroit to Yemen, Terror Tops the News Agenda: January 4-10, 2010
• NMI — Social and Traditional Media Agree: Botched Terror Attack Is Big News: December 28, 2009 - January 1, 2010
• NCI — The Near-Miss Plane Plot Leads Newspaper Headlines: December 28, 2009 - January 3, 2010
• NMI — Bloggers Track the Nuances of the Health Care Debate: December 21-25, 2009