The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism has released its analysis of last week’s news coverage. Iran narrowly edged out Michael Jackson for the week but Jackson’s death has certainly been the top story since the pop idol was rushed to the hospital on Thursday afternoon.
According to the study, over a 28-hour period of time, from Thursday afternoon to Friday night, 60% of total news coverage was devoted to Jacksons death. Cable news was dedicated to the story significantly more than other news outlets: 93% of all cable news coverage on Thursday and Friday was about Michael Jackson. Comparatively, Friday morning newspapers devoted a relatively modest 37% of front page coverage to the story. Online news coverage fell somewhere in between with 55% of leading coverage focused on the King of Pop. More…