Journalisted Weekly: The budget, Cameron in the US, and NHS reforms

Journalisted is an independent, not-for-profit website built to make it easier for you, the public, to find out more about journalists and what they write about. It is run by the Media Standards Trust, a registered charity set up to foster high standards in news on behalf of the public, and funded by donations from charitable foundations. Each week Journalisted produces a summary of the most covered news stories, most active journalists and those topics falling off the news agenda, using its database of UK journalists and news sources.

The budget, Cameron in the US, and NHS reforms

For the week ending Sunday 18 March

  • Final preparations for George Osborne’s budget captured the most headlines
  • Cameron’s US visit, NHS reforms, and the killing of 16 Afghan civilians by an American soldier, covered lots
  • Legal aid, the ICC’s first verdict, and violence in Gaza, covered little

Covered Lots

Covered Little

  • Legal aid, due to be cut significantly in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill, currently being debated and amended in the Lords, 33 articles
  • The ICC, in its first verdict, found the Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga guilty of using and recruiting child soldiers between 2002 and 2003, 25 articles
  • After four days of violence in Gaza – where 25 Palestinians died and 35 Israelis were injured – Egypt steps in to broker a ceasefire between the two, 12 articles

Political ups and downs (top ten by number of articles)

Celebrity vs Serious

  • Britain’s Got Talent is set to return for another TV series, 71 articles vs. The Government has launched the NewBuy scheme, designed to assist first time buyers onto the housing ladder, 55 articles.
  • Russell Brand was in trouble with the law – again – throwing a photographers mobile phone through a window, 43 articles vs. Kony 2012 may have 83 millions hits on Youtube, but it was mentioned in just 42 articles
  • David Beckham and family head out for lunch and he opts for a Burrito (possibly not the same day), 32 articles vs. Bo Xilai, one of China’s leading Government officials, was sacked by the Communist party after trying to block a police inquiry regarding his family, 38 articles

Eurozone leaders (top ten by number of articles)

No other Eurozone leaders were mentioned in UK press coverage.

Who wrote a lot about… George Osborne

Long form journalism

Journalists who have updated their profile

Chris Mason is a political correspondent for the BBC. After studying at Christ’s College Cambridge, he trained at City University as an ITN trainee. Chris has worked for numerous BBC outlets and was part of the team that won the Sony Gold award for ‘The Birth of the Coalition’ on Radio 5 live. Follow him on twitter @ChrisMasonBBC

Emily Lawrence is a freelance journalist who has written for a number of publications. After completing her studies in International Relations at Exeter, she has worked for Al Akhbar English, Palestine News Network, Palestine-Israel Journal and the Electronic Intifada. Follow her on twitter @EmilyWarda

All information taken from journalisted profiles as updated (2012-03-20)

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All Journalisted weekly newsletter statistics are calculated based on articles published on national news websites, BBC News online and Sky News online

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