According to PEJ News and Coverage Index for September 6-12, news about Koran burning threats and other anti-Muslim sentiments made up 10% of the week's news. "Indeed," the report says, "attention to those hot button issues concerning Islam almost completely overshadowed coverage of the Sept. 11 commemorations themselves."

In an article published on PoynterOnline, Angie Chuang writes on how coverage of the supposed Koran burning reflects typical media attitudes. "What did the coverage tell us about the bigger picture of how the media cover Islam and Muslim Americans?" she asks, "and what can we learn from it?" She believes the episode reveals "ongoing shortcomings in the American media," pointing out that "often, the U.S. media just skim the surface when reporting on Islam and Muslims."

She quotes Asra Nomani, a former reporter as wishing that "the American media would cover Islam just they do any other industry from Coca Cola to the airline industry. Nomani advises the news media to "generate as much discussion and critical thinking about issues concerning Islam and anti-Muslim sentiment as it does with politics, the White House, and other topics."

While the media has been warned to stay away from news frenzies, the threat to burn the Koran remains an instance of news pushed into significance by the media. Chuang spoke with Arsalan Iftikhar, a writer on Islam, who reminded the media that paying certain news items unnecessary attention can serve as incentive for attention-seeking copycats. "Hopefully," he said, "no media outlet will give these people the light of day."

Issues concerning the economy ranked highest, taking up 21% of the news. The 2010 elections came next with 12%, while discussions on China and Afghanistan each took up 9%. PEJ Index findings are based on analyses of the American news media.

Source: PoynterOnline, Journalism.org