Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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.
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.
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.
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.