Top rated stories on U.S. Economy, week two

For the past two weeks, our featured topic has been the U.S. Economy. The month of September has produced a financial crisis that the Wall Street Journal and many market observers have called the worst since the Great Depression. With elections just six weeks away, Barack Obama and John McCain have traded attacks on the economy, while Congress is rushing to pass legislation to protect homeowners and curb the market turmoil that brought down several major insurers and banks. Our members found a range of stories on the new challenges facing the economy and how the candidates plan to address them if elected. Here are some of our top stories.

News

On Wall Street as on Main Street, a Problem of Denial
New York Times (News Analysis)

No End in Sight to the Financial Crisis
Economist (News Analysis)

Worst Crisis Since '30s, with No End in Sight
Wall Street Journal (News Analysis)

New Architecture for the Financial World
Washington Post (News Analysis)

Senate Democrats Want Pay Limits, Equity in Bailout
Reuters (News Report)

Sorting Out the Truth on taxes
PolitiFact (News Analysis)

Bailout May Give Housing Market Some Breathing Room
L.A. Times (News Report)

Estimates Say Fed Budget Deficit Nearing $407B
Associated Press (News Report)

Nominees Ignore Credit Crunch
Washington Independent (News Report)

Financial Bailout: Who's Minding the Store?
Real Time Investigations (Special Report)

Opinion

Perhaps, Time to Play some Offense
New York Times (Opinion)

If You Like Michigan's Economy, You'll Love Obama's
Wall Street Journal (Opinion)

A Crisis that could make the U.S. Election a Cleaner Contest
The Independent (Opinion)

Fault Lines Expose Flimsy Foundations
Financial Times (Opinion)

Public Policy Matters After All
Columbia Journalism Review (Opinion)

Financial Rescues show that Faith in Free Market is Shaken
Washington Post (Opinion)

Effort to Contain Financial Crisis Failing
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Opinion)

McCain Attacks Wall Street Greed--While 83 Wall Street Lobbyists Work for his Campaign
Mother Jones (Blog Post)

Heckuva Job, Bernake
The Nation (Opinion)

Amid a Painful Economic Meltdown, Will Obama be Bold Enough to Win?
AlterNet (Opinion)

This week: Foreign Policy
This week our featured topic is U.S. Foreign Policy. The first presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama will take place this Friday, and its focus is expected to be foreign policy. As the news media cover this charged topic, help us find the best journalism on how the candidates plan to approach U.S. relations with Russia, the Middle East, and China, among others. Get started by visiting our Foreign Policy topic page and reviewing or submitting some of our recommended stories.

– Derek Hawkins

Top rated stories on U.S. Economy

This week, we're extending our coverage of the U.S. Economy, our featured topic since last week.

High unemployment, market turmoil and the collapse of some of the nation’s biggest finance companies have kept the economy a top concern among voters. As a result, Barack Obama and John McCain are now making the economy a key component of their campaigns. Last week, we looked at the new challenges facing the economy, and how each candidate plans to address them if elected in November.

Here are some of our top stories so far:

News

On Wall Street as on Main Street, a Problem of Denial
New York Times (News Analysis)

AIG: Bail-out or Bust?
Economist (News Analysis)

New Architecture for the Financial World
Washington Post (News Analysis)

Estimates say Fed Budget Deficit Nearing $407B
Associated Press (News Report)

Saving the People's Bank of China
Slate (News Analysis)

Nominees Ignore Credit Crunch
Washington Independent (News Analysis)

Opinion

Effort to Contain Financial Crisis Failing
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Opinion)

Market Beat: Is this a Bailout?
Wall Street Journal (Blog Post)

McCain's Convenient Untruth
Washington Post (Opinion)

Heckuva Job, Bernake
The Nation (Opinion)

Is the Fannie/Freddie Bailout "Socialism"?
Mother Jones (Opinion)

Wall Street Sank Fannie and Freddie
Columbia Journalism Review (Opinion)

Equal Before Mammon
New Yorker (Opinion)

U.S. Economy will remain our featured topic through the end of the week. Help us surface great journalism on the economy by reviewing unrated stories (the ones with gray stars) on our U.S. Economy topic page, or submitting high-quality stories on your own.

Top Stories on the Republican Party

Here are the results of our News Hunt on the Republican Party, our featured topic last week. A slow summer news cycle came to an abrupt end with John McCain choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate and the Republican National Convention taking place in St. Paul. NewsTrust members searched for good journalism on these two events and found no shortage of quality news and opinion. McCain's choice of Palin, the controversial governor of Alaska, drew wide coverage from mainstream and independent media. Coverage of the convention, while shadowed somewhat by the landfall of Hurricaine Gustav, peaked with a rousing nomination speech by McCain.

Between September 1st and 8th, our community posted 445 reviews of over 150 stories on the GOP and Sarah Palin -- from publications of all political stripes. Here are some of the top stories we found, including those with the highest ratings, the most member reviews, and most original viewpoints.

Top News Stories - Republican Party

The Real Sarah Palin: An Apostle of Alaska
Newsweek (Special Report)

The Friend He Just Can't Shake
Washington Post (News Analysis)

Palin reignites culture wars
The Politico (News Analysis)

GOP Mocks Public Service at its Peril
The Nation (News Analysis)

Palin's Start in Alaska -- Not Politics as Usual
New York Times (Special Report)

Palin Queries Push McCain to Skip CNN
Wall Street Journal (News Report)

FactChecking McCain
FactCheck (News Analysis)

Sarah Palin: Media Victim or Campaign Weapon
LinkTV (News Analysis)

How the 2008 Electoral Map has Changed
Christian Science Monitor (News Report)

The Libertarian Case for Palin
Real Clear Politics (News Analysis)

Here are more top rated news stories on the Republican Party.

Top Opinion - Republican Party

Sarah Palin Gender Card
Daily Show (Comedy News)

The woman from nowhere
Economist (Opinion)

Bad Impression: Did the media take swipes at Sarah Palin
Fox News

McCain's Convenient Truth
Washington Post (Opinion)

How Palin Beat Alaska's Political Establishment
Wall Street Journal (Opinion)

Palin: Wrong woman, wrong message
Los Angeles Times

RNC Update
The Panelist (Opinion)

Not Training Wheels We Can Believe In
Talking Points Memo (Blog Post)

Palin Appeals to Voter Emotions -- Dems Beware
The Nation (Opinion)

Investigative reporters head to Alaska... And when will Sarah Palin meet the press?
Mother Jones (Blog Post)

Here are more top rated opinion pieces on the Republican Party.

This Week: U.S. Economy
Our featured topic this week is the U.S. Economy, which we last featured in mid-July. Since then, a Federal bailout of the semi-public mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has become a full government takeover. As the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain have intensified, polls have shown the economy has remained the most important issue for American voters this election. We're looking for great journalism on how the candidates will address the country's economic challenges -- from the mortgage crisis to the budget deficit to rising unemployment. Please submit great stories on the economy, or start reviewing on our U.S. Economy topic page.

Beginning with the U.S. Economy, each week we will be looking at a key issue for November's general election. Next week the focus will be on Energy, followed by Foreign Policy on the week of September September 22nd. If there's an important issue you think we should focus on, please email us at editors-at-Newstrust.net.

- Derek Hawkins

Top Stories on the Democratic Party

Last week's featured topic was the Democratic Party, coinciding with its national convention in Denver. With international attention turned toward Barack Obama's formal nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate, it was all hands on deck for both American and foreign news media. Our community identified some excellent news and opinion on the topic, looking beyond the fundraiser dinners, speeches and other convention fare. Here's a sampling:

News

Convention donors often have business before lawmakers and regulators
Los Angeles Times (Special Report)

Democrats Confront National Security Challenge by Trying to Broaden the Definition
Congressional Quarterly (Special Report)

Obama's speech is TV ratings home run
Christian Science Monitor (News Report)

Top Black Donors See Obama's Rise as Their Own
New York Times (Special Report)

'Economics. Economics. Economics'
The Nation (News Analysis)