One easy way to measure the importance of a news story (or at least the importance the media places on the story) is to glance at the number of results hoarded by Google’s “News” search tool. I couldn’t say if this is an accurate metric—there are blog search tools out there that might be a better metric—but it does seem to reflect either public interest on a topic or the money involved.
I began watching this number more closely after seeing that
a recent story in the UK’s Sunday Times about a genetically modified human embryo created in New York last year generated just 270 unique stories (or blogs or editorials as of this writing) on Google News after more than a day out in the open.
What gives? Though the researchers involved rightly used a non-viable embryo, and destroyed it after five days (presumably once their research goals were accomplished), the story generated little more outrage than could be mustered by a few conservative groups and perhaps the media itself.
I had expected a firestorm of controversy, but I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. The tide has turned. An administration hostile to this sort of stem cell R&D is wrapping up its term; California has already pledged $271 million to build stem cell facilities.
We could also find answers back at Google News. There are just too many competing news stories of note this week. Coverage of the Chengdu earthquake, for example, is approaching 3,000 significant stories (or blogs or editorials). The HP bid for EDS has taken over as the business story of the moment with nearly 2,000 articles.
There are literally dozens of stories that outrank the embryo revelations, including web gems—the secret UFO files in the UK recently released to the public—and obligatory hard news—Bush’s arrival in Israel for the celebration of the country’s 60-year anniversary.
I think everyone has realized that if the U.S. doesn’t get on board with this type of research, which looks both promising and profitable, someone somewhere else will be happy to give it a try.
