Indexes

Rupert Murdoch’s troubles produced an outpouring of anger and emotion on Twitter last week. On blogs, the possibility that the White House will leave troops in Iraq beyond 2011 triggered a debate. And on YouTube, footage of an enormous sandstorm that engulfed Phoenix received over a million views.

Coverage of the U.S. economy led the news agenda for the third week in a row, thanks to some drama in the deficit talks. The unexpected conclusion to a high profile trial generated plenty of press attention while a major British media scandal made its way across the Atlantic.

Criticism of a 2012 GOP presidential candidate dominated the conversation on blogs last week, while Twitter users got excited over a new social networking tool from Google. On YouTube, strange objects in the air over London generated the most views.

The stalemate over deficit reduction and the entry of another candidate into the crowded 2012 presidential race made the economy and election the two leading stories last week. Meanwhile media attention to Afghanistan fell dramatically, highlighting the episodic and uneven coverage of that decade-old conflict.

Bloggers, last week, overwhelmingly disapproved of President Obama’s proposal to withdraw 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year. But what they called for instead varied greatly—from wanting all the troops home to calls for sending more support.

Though the economy topped the mainstream news agenda, Obama’s troop drawdown announcement gave Afghanistan its biggest week of coverage in a year. And while mainstay subjects—the campaign and the Mid-East—continued to make news, the surprise arrest of one of the FBI’s most wanted dominated the end of the week.

Bloggers last week dug into a financial disaster surrounding a controversial war. On Twitter, science stories, including an eclipse and global warming, led the way. And the top YouTube video showed the downside of a social media misstep.

The 2012 campaign was the top story last week as Republican hopefuls met in a New Hampshire debate that produced some media winners and losers. Worries about the economy were a close No. 2. And three weeks after the initial scandal broke, Anthony Weiner’s resignation was major news.

The new Apple operating system sent Twitter users buzzing last week while bloggers kept a close eye on a courtroom battle over the new health care law. And on YouTube, Sarah Palin’s retelling of Paul Revere’s ride was the lead video.

The media were riveted last week by a made-for-headlines scandal involving one of the more combative members of Congress. The U.S. economy, the chaos in the Mideast and the emerging presidential race also generated significant attention, but they could not rival a story about the intersection of sex and politics.