The economic crisis barely reclaimed the top spot in the news two weeks ago, but the unfolding drama in Iran blew it off the top of the charts during the week of 6/15-21/09, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism. And it wasn’t particularly close, either, with Iran holding a 28%-16% edge.
A mix of domestic and international stories battled it out for single-digit attention. Although there were a lot of stories that picked up interest in only one or two media, radio completely duplicated the overall top ten list (with different story emphasis), and newspaper was only off by one story.
| Story | Overall | Newspaper | Online | NetTV | CATV | Radio |
| Iran | 28% | 23% | 26% | 30% | 34% | 21% |
| Econonic crisis | 16% | 24% | 18% | 14% | 12% | 9% |
| Health care debate | 7% | 4% | 4% | 6% | 8% | 17% |
| North Korea | 4% | 3% | 7% | 3% | 4% | 4% |
| Obama administration | 3% | 3% | x | 2% | 5% | 1% |
| Domestic terrorism | 2% | 2% | x | x | 6% | 2% |
| Israel and Palenstine | 2% | 3% | 1% | C | x | 1% |
| Same-sex marriage | 2% | 3% | x | x | x | 4% |
| Afghanistan | 2% | 2% | 4% | x | x | 2% |
| Sarah Palin | 2% | x | x | x | 2% | 6% |
| Energy debate | x | 3% | x | x | x | x |
| Pakistan | x | x | 2% | x | x | x |
| i-Phone | x | x | 2% | x | x | x |
| Cuba | x | x | 1% | x | x | x |
| Missing persons | x | x | 1% | x | x | x |
| Midwest storms | x | x | x | 3% | x | x |
| Pilot dies midflight | x | x | x | 3% | 2% | x |
| US airline industry | x | x | x | 2% | x | x |
| Mexican drug war | x | x | x | 1% | x | x |
| Bush’s time in office | x | x | x | x | 2% | x |
| Kansas doctor killed | x | x | x | x | 2% | x |
Source: Project for Excellence in Journalism
