Indexes

Health care reform received its highest level of media coverage last week than at any time since the legislative battle began. That made it the 18th biggest story in any week since PEJ began its real time monitoring of the national media. And most of that coverage focused on the political impact of the law.

As the health care bill neared passage in the House last week, it was by far the most popular topic on blogs, stirring a passionate and sometimes angry debate. On Twitter, a number of technology-focused stories led the way. And on YouTube, Jesse Ventura’s view on conspiracy theories was among the most popular videos.

After a year of passionate debate, health-care reform dominated the news agenda  last week leading up to a key vote by the House of Representatives, with the media focused on head counts, horse trading and the political calculus for legislators. No other story came close, but the economy once again finished as runner up.

Last week the dominant subject among bloggers was a global poll that illustrated strong sentiment for treating cyberspace as a kind of universal public utility. On Twitter, technology was once again the focus. And a senior citizen disc jockey was the week’s YouTube favorite.

For the third straight week, the Obama Administration’s renewed efforts to pass a health care bill topped the news agenda while the U.S. economy followed in the No. 2 slot. Ex-Congressman Eric Massa’s weird cable TV tour also generated attention. And troubled Toyota found itself in the news again, albeit this time with somewhat more  sympathetic coverage.

For the second time in a month, the issue of gay rights drew intense interest from the blogosphere. The Chilean earthquake finished a close second while news about Google was the lead topic on Twitter. And on YouTube, four of the five top videos were about an animal trainer drowned by a killer whale at SeaWorld in Orlando.

The media last week were focused squarely on politicians. While Obama’s health care gamble was the top story, Jim Bunning’s quixotic Senate crusade, a Texas gubernatorial primary and the resignation of a powerful House committee chairman were also big news. The only non-politics story in the top five was the tragedy in Chile.

Bloggers weren’t very interested in the politics of the big Washington bi-partisan health care summit last week. But they engaged in a spirited debate over a health care warning issued by some pediatricians. On Twitter, several different Web-focused subjects gained the most attention. And Tiger Woods’ media mea culpa drew more than half a million views on YouTube.

With the legislative process stalled in recent weeks, the media turned away from health care reform. But President Obama’s much-awaited February 25 summit meeting changed that. Meanwhile, a modicum of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill fueled coverage of the economy and a mea culpa before Congress put Toyota in the headlines.

Following an interview with one of the leading scientists in the so-called “Climate-gate” controversy, bloggers engaged in a passionate exchange over the merits of climate change science. On Twitter, an airline’s treatment of an overweight celebrity was the top story. And on YouTube, the tragic death of an Olympic luger was a leading driver of traffic.