viz.

As we discussed yesterday, January 18's SOPA "blackout" generated a massive reaction that catalyzed a collapse in legislative support for the Congressional Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate's Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA).  Today, I will explore how some analysts are currently using images to depict SOPA's notoriety on the web during the blackout and, additionally, chart out SOPA/PIPA's relative obscurity in the realm of primetime television news before the blackout.

In the months before the blackout, SOPA and PIPA receved very little coverage by organs of the mainstream television media such as MSNBC, Fox News, ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN--all of which are owned by parent companies that were in favor of the bill's tough legislative stance against piracy. MediaMatters.org -- a left-leaning media watchdog -- released a study demonstrating that SOPA was mentioned in two prime-time segments released between October 26th, 2011 and January 12th 2012. This is less than one-twentieth of the coverage devoted to the British royal family and the conduct of Tim Tebow, the quarterback for the Denver Broncos. SOPA coverage was also dwarfed by coverage of Alec Baldwin's confrontation with a flight attendant and Kim Kardashian's divorce.