Newspapers
96% - Drop in media coverage of the Iraq War from 2007 to 2011 President Obama’s announcement, on October 21, that all troops will be out of Iraq by the end of this year, made news by formally marking the end of that conflict. It also evoked surprise and criticism from those who fear the country could fall into the hands of extremists or under Iranian influence. The timetable was not entirely new. Three years ago, President George Bush signed a treaty setting December 31, 2011 as the target date for full withdrawal of U.S. troops, and Obama made that deadline part of his campaign for president. But the decision for complete withdrawal went further than some expected. It also made Iraq a major story, something it had not been in more than a year. Coverage of the Iraq War developments accounted for 4.6% of the newshole last week (October 17-23) making it the highest week of Iraq War coverage since August 30-September 5, 2010 when the final combat troops were removed from Iraq. That earlier announcement drew nearly twice as much media attention—8.4%--as last week’s decision. Last week’s jump in coverage runs counter to a long and clear trend. Media attention to the war has declined dramatically since the News Coverage Index began measuring it back in January 2007. Iraq was the top story overall in 2007, accounting for 15.4% of the newshole that year, according to PEJ’s analysis, as Congress and President Bush battled for control of Iraq policy. But as the U.S. drew down troops, and the domestic policy debate subsided, American media outlets also withdrew reporters from Iraq, and attention to the war has declined by more than 95% percent since 2007. For 2011 so far, the Iraq has filled 0.6% of the newshole, less than the attention to the trial of Casey Anthony or the Mexican Drug War. Tricia Sartor of PEJ
10:7 - Ratio of the biggest week of Occupy Wall Street coverage to the top week of Tea Party coverage The Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street are two protest movements with different tactics and philosophies that have both been able to capture media attention. But the level and timing of that attention has varied. The Occupy Wall Street protests in New York began on September 17, 2011. Coverage first registered in PEJ's weekly News Coverage Index from September 26-October 2, when the protests filled 2% of the newshole, due in part to a widely circulated video of a police officer pepper spraying female protesters. Attention continued to rise the following week (7% of the newshole from October 3-9) as the protests began to spread and 700 people were arrested while attempting to march across the Brooklyn Bridge. From October 10-16, coverage increased again, to 10%, as the protests became more politicized in the U.S. while expanding to a reported 900 cities around the globe. How does this compare to coverage of the Tea Party protests? The first time the Tea Party demonstrations showed up in the NCI was April 13-19, 2009, the week of a major national protest marking tax day. The story accounted for 7% of the newshole then, making it the single biggest week of coverage of any Tea Party-related story. The next biggest week of attention to the Tea Party occurred one year later, when protests marking tax day accounted for 6% of the newshole from April 12-18, 2010. The third-biggest week of coverage (3%) occurred from July 12-18, 2010, when a controversy erupted after the NAACP condemned what it called racist elements within the Tea Party. Tea Party coverage also accounted for 3% of the newshole from April 19-25, 2010-the week after the tax day protests-based on a variety of storylines. They include a debate about whether the Tea Party was getting too much media attention as well as remarks by former president Bill Clinton comparing current harsh anti-government rhetoric with the kind of things being said at the time of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. In assessing the amounts of coverage devoted to Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party, it's worth noting that the main Tea Party protests were one-day events while the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations have gone on for more than a month. In addition, the Tea Party and its goals have become part of the nation's political narrative and now generate ongoing coverage, not simply when there are major events or protests. Tricia Sartor of PEJ The Media PrimaryWhich candidate has fared best in the news media in the first five months of the race for president?
2:1 - Coverage of the immigration debate compared to that of the Mexican drug war On September 24, Macias Castro, a local news editor for the Mexican daily paper Primera Hora, was found decapitated in the city of Nuevo Laredo near the Texas border. A note near her body said she had been killed for writing about the drug cartels on social media websites and implicates the powerful cartel, Los Zetas. Castro is the 7th journalists killed in Mexico this year and, according to Committee to Protect Journalists, the 45th murdered since 2006— when Mexican President Calderon began the campaign to crack down on drug cartels. Many Mexican news organizations have decided, even publically, to stop reporting on the cartels rather than put their journalists at risk. Dedicated journalists like Castro have, in turn, moved to twitter and other social network sites—using pseudonyms to stay anonymous—to report on the cartels’ actions. In the five year war, nearly 40,000 people have been killed, including governors, senators, military personnel and citizens, according to media reports. The battle is occurring right along the U.S. border and is largely fueled by drug consumption in the U.S. The story, though, has generated little attention in the U.S. press. Since January 2009, just 0.6% of the U.S. newshole has focused on the Drug War in Mexico, placing it 12th amid all international stories in that period, according to PEJ's News Coverage Index. Another border issue, the U.S. immigration debate, has generated twice the attention, 1.1%, garnered by the drug war. Tricia Sartor of PEJ How People Learn About Their Local CommunityHow do people get news and information about the community where they live? Traditional research has suggested that Americans watch local TV news more than any other local information source. But a new report by the PEJ and the Pew Internet and American Life Project, in association with the Knight Foundation offers a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the ecosystem of community information. 
How People Learn About Their Local Community
19.4% - Biggest Week of 9/11-related news in the past five years Coverage related to the events of 9/11/2001 has become a staple of the news agenda, often timed around the anniversary of the terrorist attacks. But in recent years, bitter controversies involving Islam—rather than remembrances or commemorations—have driven that 9/11 coverage. The biggest week of 9/11-related coverage since PEJ began tracking news in January 2007 occurred from September 6-12, 2010, when the subject accounted for 19.4% of the newshole. But it was media attention to Terry Jones—the pastor of a small church in Florida who threatened to burn the Koran on 9/11—that accounted for 70% of that coverage. Remembrances and dedications surrounding the anniversary accounted for just 30%. The controversy over building an Islamic Center near Ground Zero has also generated significant attention in recent years. The No. 2 week of 9/11-connected coverage occurred from August 16-22, 2010, when President Obama seemed to offer a message of support for the project. The mosque debate filled 14.7% of the newshole that week. One week later (August 23-29), the same subject accounted for 6.1% of the overall newshole, making it the third-biggest week of 9/11-related attention. Two weeks that focused on 9/11 anniversary remembrances and memorials round out the top five list. They were September 8-14, 2008 (5.9% of the overall newshole) and September 7-13, 2009 (5.5%). One distinctly different kind of 9/11 story registered as No. 8 on the list, at 3.4%, the week of December 20-26, 2010. It was the passage of the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act which provides health monitoring and financial aid to 9/11 responders and was approved only after considerable political skirmishing and a GOP filibuster. This list also does not include one other major event that ended up as the biggest single-week story since PEJ began the News Coverage Index. The killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by Navy Seals generated 69% of the overall coverage from May 2-8, 2011. Tricia Sartor of PEJ
0.2% - News coverage focused on the Famine In Africa in 2011 In the Horn of African 12 million people are facing a hunger crisis and nearly a half million children are at risk of dying from malnutrition and disease. On July 20 the United Nations officially declared famine in the region—the first officially declared famine since 1985 and the first significant food crisis in three years. But this famine has received very little attention in the U.S. mainstream media. In July and August the food crisis has accounted for just 0.7% of the newshole. Year-to-date the crisis registers at just 0.2%. The little coverage here highlights a trend in media attention to Sub-Saharan Africa, which includes the Horn of Africa as well as other regions. The ethnic conflict in Sudan, for example, and the succession of Southern Sudan from the north has accounted for just 0.1% of the newshole this year, according to PEJ’s News Coverage Index. The civil war in the Ivory Coast and the arrest of President Laurant Gbagbo accounted for just 0.1% this year. The ethnic violence following the 2011 election in Nigeria as well as economic crisis has accounted for less than 0.1% of the newshole. And the violence in Somalia by al-Qaida linked Al-Shabaab, has accounted for less than 0.1% of the newshole this year. The Tunisian protests, on the other hand, led to the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, accounted for 0.3% of the newshole, or three-times the coverage. And the uprising in Egypt that led to the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak have accounted for a full 3.8% of the newshole this year. Tricia Sartor of PEJ
4% - Amount of economic coverage focused on the housing crisis With the battle over the national debt, an unstable stock market, and stubbornly high unemployment numbers, the national economy has been a major topic in the news. Indeed the economy is the most covered story in 2011, accounting for almost one-fifth or 18.3% of newshole, thus far. What economic storylines have made up this coverage? According to PEJ’s News Coverage Index, nearly half (45.6%) of the economic coverage from January 1 through August 21 has focused on the hotly disputed national deficit and budget. An additional 16.9% dealt with budget battles at the state and local level. Combined, nearly two-thirds of the economic coverage (62.5%) focused on political fights stemming from budget and debt negotiations. Aspects of the economy receiving less coverage included attention to unemployment and jobs (7.9%), the ongoing housing problems (4%), and the general effect on average Americans (1.5%). Together, these three aspects, which directly affect many Americans, accounted for just one-fifth of the attention generated by the budget battles. Tricia Sartor of PEJ
24% - Percentage of Ron Paul’s campaign coverage in 2011 compared to Donald Trump's In the days after his runner-up finish to Michele Bachmann in Iowa’s August 13 GOP straw poll, Texas Congressman Ron Paul complained about a lack of media coverage, accusing the press of being “frightened by me challenging the status quo and the establishment." As pundits debate whether Paul is getting the attention he deserves, a PEJ analysis of campaign coverage this year indicates he is the 10th leading election newsmaker— trailing far behind non-candidates Donald Trump and Sarah Palin and as well as floundering Republican hopeful Newt Gingrich. From January 1-August 14, Paul has been a dominant newsmaker in only 27 campaign stories. (To be considered a dominant newsmaker, someone must be featured in at least 50% of a story.) That is less than one-quarter of the media attention generated by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (120 stories), who is the top newsmaker among Republican candidates. And he has received 25% as much coverage as Bachmann, the Minnesota Congresswoman (108 stories). Paul’s coverage also lags far behind Trump (94 stories), who dallied with a run before opting out in mid-May and Palin (85 stories), who has given no indication to date that she will enter the race. In addition, Paul trails longshot candidate and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman (44 stories) and Texas Governor, Rick Perry (33 stories) who only announced his candidacy on August 13. The only significant GOP candidates that Paul is besting are former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum (21 stories) and businessman Herman Cain (11 stories). The top campaign newsmaker overall is incumbent President Barack Obama, at 221 stories. In a further attempt to gauge the post-straw poll attention to Paul’s campaign, PEJ also used the Snapstream server’s closed captioning capability to assess the candidates’ television coverage in the first few days after that balloting. The sample included the three network Sunday morning panel shows on August 14, the morning and evening network news programs on August 15 and four hours of prime-time cable and one hour of daytime from each of the three major cable news networks on August 15. According to that analysis, Paul was mentioned just 29 times. By comparison, Perry was mentioned 371 times, Bachmann was mentioned 274 times, and Romney was mentioned 183 times. Tricia Sartor of PEJ |
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