Americans’ top news stories of 2007

Every media organization, it seems, has released some kind of year-end list with a different angle on the important news stories of 2007. Christine critiqued Time‘s list today, and of course FP has its own list of the “Top 10 Stories You Missed in 2007.” But what did Americans actually consider to be their top ...

597374_071231_pew_05.gif
597374_071231_pew_05.gif

Every media organization, it seems, has released some kind of year-end list with a different angle on the important news stories of 2007. Christine critiqued Time's list today, and of course FP has its own list of the "Top 10 Stories You Missed in 2007."

Every media organization, it seems, has released some kind of year-end list with a different angle on the important news stories of 2007. Christine critiqued Time‘s list today, and of course FP has its own list of the “Top 10 Stories You Missed in 2007.”

But what did Americans actually consider to be their top 10 stories of 2007?  Each week, the Pew Center for the People and the Press tracks the stories that Americans say they are following closely, and has released its own tabulated list for the year for the first time. Pew also compared its results to the News Coverage Index, which measures how much time various major media outlets devoted to top stories. And lo and behold, a shocking finding: regular Americans care much more about domestic news stories, disasters, and pocketbook issues than we in the media apparently do. Sarcasm aside, the details are interesting.

Here are the stories that Americans followed most closely in 2007:

And here are the stories that interested the public far more than they did the press:

Still, I don’t think the implication here is necessarily that more coverage of high gas prices was warranted. After all, how many times can you report that gas prices are rising as the summer driving season approaches and gee, isn’t filling up your car getting expensive?

I also wonder if the “newshole” number is misleading. Far more Americans watch TV network and cable news than read the newspaper or Web sites. The methodology of the News Coverage Index attempts to account for this imbalance, but I have my doubts—looking at the number above, it sure seems like the stories that were discussed endlessly on CNN and FOX News were the ones that Americans followed most closely. Repetition is a powerful thing.

Tag: Media

More from Foreign Policy

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.

At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment

Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.

How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China

As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.

What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal

Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.

A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.
A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.

Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust

Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.