Midterms Dominate News Hole: PEJ Index

The midterm elections dominated new coverage for the week of Oct. 25-31, according to the latest Project for Excellent in Journalism News Coverage Index, with a particular focus on tea party candidates and some internal drama in the Democratic party.

The index claimed that 42% of the news hole involved the elections, up from 38% the week before, and that news organizations devoted seven times as much time and space to the subject as the number two story. That makes the election the second-biggest story of the year after health care the week of March 22-28, when the reform bill passed.

The story topped all five media sectors studied, led by cable at 57%, and radio at 56%.
The number two story was the economy at only 6% of the news hole, followed by the terrorist plots uncovered (5%), and the oil spill and Afghan war (3% apiece).

The PEJ Index comprises approximately 1,000 stories from 52 different outlets across five sectors: print, online, network TV, and cable and national radio.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.