See who is in the political news
The In the News page counts how often political coverage names each person and lists the most named, first among the members of Congress and then among everyone. You can compare the last 24 hours, the last 7 days and the last 30 days.
#Use the In the News page
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Open In the News in the row of Politics sections.
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Choose a period: 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days.
The In the News page. The left card ranks members of Congress; the right card ranks everyone political coverage names.
- 1What is counted, and over what period
- 224 hours, 7 days or 30 days
- 3Members of Congress, most named first
- 4The number of articles that name them
- 5Everyone the news names, members included
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Read the Members of Congress card for members in office, and the Everyone card for anyone the news names, members included.
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Select a member to open their page. Select anyone else to run a Politics search for that name.
#How to read the numbers
Each row has a rank, a name and a number. The number is how many articles named that person in the period you chose. A bar beside it is drawn in proportion to the top of the list.
- The count covers articles the 4Search news index files under politics, government or law. It is a count of articles, not of readers or votes.
- Different spellings of a member's name are counted together. People who are not members are counted by name.
- The list shows the 40 most named people in each card.
Two cards on the Politics overview use the same counts for the last 24 hours: Congress in the news, for members of Congress, and Who the news is naming, for everyone. More in each opens this page. On a member's page, the In the news card draws the last 30 days as a bar for each day, with the total.
#Common questions
Does a higher number mean the person is doing better?
No. The number counts articles that name them, and an article can name someone for any reason. It says nothing about approval, importance or whether the coverage was favorable.
Why is a person I expected not on the list?
Each card shows the 40 most named people for the period, so someone named less often falls off. The Members of Congress card lists only members in office. A member who has left office can still appear in Everyone.
Why are people who are not members of Congress on the page?
Political coverage names many people, such as the President, other officials, foreign leaders and candidates. The Everyone card counts all of them.
How often does the count update?
The 24-hour count covers a rolling window and is refreshed about every half hour. The 7-day and 30-day counts are built from daily totals. See Where the information comes from.