How Coverage Attention Analysis Works
Not all stories deserve equal coverage, yet media often over-covers sensational events while ignoring consequential ones. Our Coverage Attention tool calculates an importance score for each story based on public interest, accountability implications, and newsworthiness, then compares it to actual coverage volume across 50+ sources.
Over-Coverage Detection
When a story receives disproportionate coverage relative to its importance, it signals a media pile-on. Celebrity controversies and partisan political dramas often get over-covered while infrastructure failures and policy changes receive less attention than they deserve.
Under-Reported Stories
The most valuable insight is finding stories that matter but aren't getting coverage. These are often complex policy issues, rural governance problems, or stories that don't fit media's preference for conflict and celebrity. Our tool surfaces these under-reported stories.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Coverage Attention Economy?
It measures whether stories get proportionate media coverage relative to their importance. Over-covered stories receive excessive attention (media pile-on), while under-covered stories deserve more attention than they're getting.
How do you determine if a story is over-covered or under-covered?
We calculate an importance score based on factors like public interest, accountability implications, and newsworthiness. We compare this to actual coverage volume. A positive gap means over-coverage; negative means under-coverage.
Why do some important stories get less coverage?
Media often focuses on sensational, celebrity-driven, or politically charged stories while ignoring complex policy issues, local governance problems, or stories without clear villains. Our tool helps identify these blind spots.