PEJ News Coverage Index: July 27 - Aug. 2, 2009, High-Stakes Health Care Fight Drives the News

Report Read time:
PEJ News Coverage Index: July 27 - Aug. 2, 2009, High-Stakes Health Care Fight Drives the News

For the second week in a row, health care reform topped the nation's news agenda, with the legislative battle increasingly portrayed in the press as a crucial test of Barack Obama's political skills and strengths.

The issue accounted for 19% of the newshole from July 27-August 2, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. While that represents a moderate drop from the coverage level in PEJ's News Coverage Index previous week (when it was 25%), the health care debate, or at least its politics, was the overwhelmingly dominant story on the radio and cable talk shows. In that political polarized element of the media culture, the politics of health care last week accounted for 40% of the airtime studied.

The emergence of health care as the hot topic on the ideological talk shows signals its status as the latest battleground in the young Obama presidency. The subject has triggered the most intense partisan fight in Washington since the $787 billion stimulus package passed in mid-February.

Read the full report High-Stakes Health Care Fight Drives the News on the Pew Research Center's 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

A worker in a seafood market dumps bright orange shrimp from a blue bin onto a bed of ice between a lot of other seafood laid out for sale. Other workers are visible in the background, as are the arms of shoppers placing orders from the other side of the ice bed. Seafood Industry Benefits From Greater Vessel Transparency
An aerial view of a vast wetland, with scattered vegetation visible on sandy islands. In Western Australia, a Conservation Model for the World
A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
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?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.