News Content Analysis

Charges against U.S. servicemen who captured one of the most wanted men in Iraq drew major attention from the blogosphere last week. A controversial singer was the hottest topic on Twitter. And a YouTube video intended to paint an unflattering portrait of Sarah Palin supporters was viewed more than 1 million times.

Summary of Findings The debate over health care reform dominated the public’s news interests last week, even as other stories – including the furor over new mammogram guidelines and Sarah Palin’s book tour – vied for the news media’s attention. Fully 41% cite the health care debate as their most closely followed story of the […]

A Senate health care bill, new jobless numbers, a recommendation on breast cancer screening, and a presidential visit to China made the roster of top stories in a crowded news week. But perhaps no subject stirred as much media sturm and drang as Sarah Palin’s high-profile book tour.

Summary of Findings The debate over health care reform was the news story followed most closely by the American public last week, though the media devoted more coverage to the investigation into the shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army base. About a quarter (27%) of the public say they followed news about health care […]

The new media world divided its attention between two stories last week: the progress of health care reform in Congress and the suspect in the Fort Hood shootings. On Twitter, technology-related issues topped the agenda. And on YouTube, that soccer player just won’t go away.

Coverage of the Army base massacre continued to dominate headlines as some of last week’s coverage examined whether Nidal Malik Hasan should have been stopped before his November 5 attack. And by week’s end, the plan to bring alleged 9/11 conspirators to trial in New York was dominating the headlines.

The online media joined the mainstream press last week in focusing most of their attention on the killing spree at the Fort Hood Army post. Some of that conversation focused on the background and motivation of the suspect, but much also evaluated the pros and cons of real-time newsgathering.

Summary of Findings The November 5 shootings at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas – which resulted in the death of 13 Americans – was the public’s top news story last week. News coverage of the tragedy was also high, with the national media devoting more attention to the story than to any other. […]

The U.S. unemployment rate jumped, the Afghan runoff election was cancelled and the House of Representatives passed a health care bill last week. But those stories all took a back seat to coverage of the killing spree at Fort Hood Texas, which quickly became a story about Islam and possibly, terrorism.

Summary of Findings For the second week in a row, Americans followed news about the swine flu and its vaccine more closely than any other news story – with public interest outpacing the amount of national media coverage devoted to the story. About three-in-ten (29%) name reports about the fast-spreading flu and its vaccine as […]