PEJ News Coverage Index: Jan. 14 - 19, 2007, Nature, Crime, and Politics Challenge Iraq for News Dominance

Report Read time:
PEJ News Coverage Index: Jan. 14 - 19, 2007, Nature, Crime, and Politics Challenge Iraq for News Dominance

The tale of two kidnapped teenagers, nature's assault on California's citrus crop, and another dose of “Obama-mania” competed with the Iraq crisis for the media's attention last week, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism News Coverage Index.

In the week of January 14-19, 2007, when President Bush hit the interview circuit to sell the “surge” plan and the UN reported more than 34,000 Iraqi civilian deaths in the year past, the war was again the leading topic in the news. When combined, the policy debate (the top story at 14%) and violence in Iraq (the fourth-biggest story at 6%) filled one-fifth of the total newshole.

That, however, represented a 50% drop-off from the previous week when Iraq news virtually obscured every other event. (The drop-off would have been even greater were it not for television.)

Several breaking and unfolding stories helped fill that void. They were led by the rescued Missouri boys (second on the main Index at 8%), a saga the press explored both for the ostensibly happy ending and the unanswered and sordid questions.

Read the full article and view charts on the Project for Excellence in Journalism Web site.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up

MORE FROM PEW

Exterior view of a Payday Loan Store in downtown Chicago, Illinois, 2019. (Photo by Interim Archives/Getty Images) How to Reform State Payday Loan Laws
A man talks with Dr. Stela Kostova at Families Together of Orange County in Tustin, CA on Tuesday, February 21, 2023 Local Efforts Show Promise in Addressing Opioid Use Disorder
A blue river meanders through a broad valley of evergreen forest, with patches of open land, as large mountains rise around it on a sunny day. The mountains in the background have rocky peaks above the tree line, and some are snowcapped. Millions of Acres in U.S. Could Gain Better Protection
A large colony of penguins congregates—some standing, others lying down—on an ice-covered expanse that rises to a backdrop of snow-and-rock mountain peaks. Science Driving Marine Conservation in Southern Atlantic
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?