The Economic Crisis Returns with a Vengeance

In a sign of how quickly the media narrative has shifted from pomp and circumstance to layoffs and bankruptcy, the grim U.S. economy was the overwhelmingly dominant story one week after Barack Obama's festive inauguration. The financial crisis filled 45% of the coverage studied from Jan 26-Feb. 1, as measured by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. A week earlier, it was Obama's move into the White House that consumed most of the media's attention, also accounting for 45% of the newshole, or the time on TV and radio and space in print and online.