Economy is 40% of the Newshole

Driven by the Beltway version of a man-bites-dog story -- President Obama aligning with Republicans and fighting with Democrats -- last week’s tax skirmishing pushed coverage of the U.S. economy to a new high in 2010.

For the week of December 6-12, the story of the economy filled 40% of the newshole, according to the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence weekly index of news coverage. That easily surpassed the previous week’s level (28%), which itself represented the most media attention to the topic since March 2009. Last week’s coverage focused almost entirely on one issue—the deal between Obama and Republicans extending the Bush-era tax cuts—which many analysts viewed as a clear sign that the president was moving to the center after the rebuke delivered in the midterm elections. Adding fuel to last week’s coverage was the dramatic, if temporary, Washington realignment set in motion by the agreement. While a number of Republicans lauded the deal—which also included an extension of unemployment benefits and several incentives for business—Obama found the liberal wing of his party in open revolt. Those strange politics help explain why ideological radio and cable talk hosts drove coverage last week.