His award for services to banking was rescinded in response to his role in the demise of RBS and its subsequent part-nationalisation.

Another RBS banker – current CEO Stephen Hester -  continued to make the headlines with the story about his curbed bonus rolling over from last week.

But in a photo finish in the race for lead story of the week, the news of John Terry losing the captaincy of the national side edged ahead by a single article. The Football Association’s decision to strip Terry of the armband followed the announcement of a July trial where he faces charges of racially abusing QPR’s Anton Ferdinand

For the week ending Sunday 29th January the following number of articles were written in the mainstream media according to Journalisted.com.

The headlines:

• John Terry loses his England football captaincy following the announcement of a trial date for alleged racist abuse, 266 articles.
• Stephen Hester loses his RBS bonus, turning it down amid public controversy, 265 articles.
• Fred Goodwin loses his knighthood, with the honour annulled and cancelled by the Queen, 263 articles.
• Harry Redknapp loses his temper with a detective in court during the course of his trial for allegedly cheating the public revenue, 174 articles.

The overlooked stories:

• The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation finds malaria kills twice as many people per year as previously believed, 6 articles.
• Sauli Niinisto is elected president of Finland, 3 articles.
• Brazilian minister Mario Negromonte becomes the seventh member of Dilma Rousseff’s cabinet to step down amid corruption allegations, 2 articles.

Celebrity versus serious:

• The return of The Only Way Is Essex is heralded as a major contributor to the economy, 53 articles versus the discussion about an EU fiscal compact amid claims of a veto of a veto that was never a veto by Prime Minister Cameron, 57 articles.
• Cheryl Cole takes to Twitter to counter claims of a love affair, 37 articles versus Ed Lester, chief executive of the Student Loans Company, accused of receiving his salary through a private company thereby avoiding tax and National Insurance contributions, 40 articles.
• Keira Knightley’s new film, A Dangerous Method, premieres, 30 articles versus a report into undercover policing in political groups, including the case of Mark Kennedy, is published, 13 articles.

Political movers:

All three main parties are represented this week on the political movers podium but for quite contrasting reasons. In third place is Labour leader, Ed Miliband, whose appearance in 296 articles represents only a 32 per cent increase on last week.

Also missing out was the foreign secretary, William Hague, despite his extensive involvement in a number of international concerns ranging from growing pressure on the regime of President Assad in Syria to the escalation of tensions around the Falkland Islands.

In pole position this week was Chris Huhne who found himself in the political coverage driving seat, speeding away with a 246 per cent increase after he resigned from the cabinet. His departure coincided with the Crown Prosecution Service charging him on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. He appeared on 166 occasions.

After a wave of negative sentiment, and facing the prospect of a Commons vote, about him receiving 3.6 million of the bank’s shares he bowed to pressure and relinquished his bonus.

David Cameron bolstered his Air Miles account with his journey to another economic summit, this time in Davos, tasked with stimulating growth and ensuring global stability.

During his address to the World Economic Forum the prime minister emphasised the need for Europe to be ‘bolder’ in order move away from its economic troubles.

Meanwhile, at Southwark Crown Court, Harry Redknapp took to the stand accused of tax evasion relating to payments between himself and former Portsmouth football club chairman Milan Mandaric.

At one stage the Tottenham manager explained: ‘I have a big problem I can’t, I can’t write… so I don’t keep anything. I can’t work a computer, I don’t know what an email is… I’ve never sent a fax and I’ve never sent a text message.’

Later that day Redknapp continued his testimony revealing a conversation between him and his accountant in which it became clear that he had not been paid for the regular article he penned at The Sun ‘for 18 months’ despite not being able to write . Mr Redknapp, 64, denies the charges. The trial continues.

Elsewhere, the government’s proposed welfare reforms faced another hurdle, the Leveson Inquiry continued to hear evidence and the Republican party focused its attention on its Florida primary.

For the week ending Sunday 29th January the following number of articles were written in the mainstream media according to Journalisted.com.

The headlines:

• David Cameron is one of many global leaders addressing the summit in Davos, 441 articles.
• Football manager Harry Redknapp stands trial for cheating the public revenue, 198 articles.
• RBS chief executive Stephen Hester faced pressure to give up his bonus, 192 articles.
• The government loses a vote on a benefits cap, 138 articles.
• The Leveson Inquiry continues, with witnesses from the BBC, ITN, social networks and pressure groups, 130 articles.
• Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich campaign for the Republican presidential nomination ahead of the Florida primary, 113 articles.

The overlooked stories:

• Tibetans are shot dead in clashes with Chinese forces, 14 articles.
• Four stand for Plaid Cymru leadership, 6 articles.
• Former Scottish Socialist leader, Tommy Sheridan, is released from prison amid claims of a ‘gagging order’, 5 articles.
• Khaled Meshaal, exiled Hamas political leader, opts not to seek re-election, 3 articles.

Celebrity versus serious:

• George Clooney is nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, 82 articles, versus European Union announces sanctions against Iran, 63 articles.
• Actress and presenter Denise Welch wins Celebrity Big Brother, 48 articles, versus footballer Anton Ferdinand receives a bullet in the post, 29 articles.
• The Only Way Is Essex returned for a new series, 47 articles versus Salford votes yes in elected mayor referendum, 7 articles.

Political movers:

It was a case of the usual suspects in the jostling for biggest political mover of  the week but only in the fight to be runner-up. Deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, 20 per cent increase (244 articles), and Alex Salmond, 25 per cent increase (133 articles), were far behind Vince Cable who swept into second place with a jump of 47 per cent (131 articles).

The challenge to the benefits reform bill in its passage through parliament resulted in an explosion of stories referencing the secretary of state for work and pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, who witnessed a 242 per cent increase in coverage (130 articles) compared to last week.

Currently under house arrest, the captain has been accused of leaving the vessel before its evacuation was complete and has been labelled with the title of “Captain Coward” by many outlets. His reputation was further dented by the release of a radio conversation between him and the coastguard, during which he was ordered to get back onto the ship with the words “vada a bordo, cazzo” which opened the floodgates to a range of parodies and related memorabilia.

It wasn’t plain sailing for Labour leader Ed Miliband this week who found himself accused of floundering by the leader of Britain’s largest union Unite who gave issued a stern warning over his party’s changing stance on public sector pay freezes.

In the US, the tide appeared to turn in the race to become the Republican party’s presidential nomination with Newt Gingrich storming forward win the South Carolina primary sending ripples through the media circles who were tipping Mitt Romney to cruise to victory.

For the week ending Sunday 22nd January 2012 the following number of articles were written in the mainstream media according to Journalisted.com

The headlines:

• Cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italian coast, 413 articles.
• Newt Gingrich wins the Republican primary in South Carolina, 210 articles.
• Labour faces union criticism of its stance on cuts, 202 articles.
• The Leveson Inquiry continues, 169 articles.
• Michael Gove calls for a new royal yacht to celebrate the Jubilee, 111 articles.

The overlooked stories:

• China faces an economic growth slowdown, 19 articles.
• Croatia votes to join the EU, 13 articles.
• Arab League calls for Syrian reform, 10 articles.
• Final results in Egyptian parliamentary elections show victory for Islamist parties, 5 articles.
• China sees ‘dragon baby’ boom, 4 articles.
• Jon Huntsman withdraws from the GOP presidential nomination race, 3 articles.

Celebrity versus serious:

• Celebrity Big Brother continues, 92 articles vs. Wikipedia shuts down amid concerns over anti-piracy legislation, 88 articles.
• Ricky Gervais hosts the Golden Globes again, 72 articles vs. News International pays out to 37 victims of phone-hacking, and the Times and Sunday Times editors appear before the Leveson Inquiry, 80 articles.
• Simon Cowell experiences problems with his talent show empire, 56 articles vs. Argentina and the UK up the pressure over the Falklands, 76 articles.
• David Beckham signs deal to stay with LA Galaxy, 37 articles vs. Nick Clegg calls for a ‘John Lewis’ economy, 40 articles.
• A pregnant Amanda Holden wears heels, 8 articles vs. the downfall of Tom Harris, Labour’s social media guru, 8 articles.

Political movers

Despite the best efforts of an unnamed cabinet member who leaked government plans for a new royal yacht, the idea’s champion, Michael Gove, failed to make any significant progress up the political league with only 9 per cent boost.

This week’s title didn’t actually go to an MP but rather the current London mayor Boris Johnson who received a 61 per cent increase in coverage due, in part, to the continued discussion about the possibility of a new air hub located on reclaimed land in the Thames estuary that many have labelled “Boris Island”.

With less than 100 days to go to the mayoral election this overshadowed his Labour counterpart and primary rival, Ken Livingstone, who mustered only 24 articles.

Timing has emerged as a major sticking point with the coalition government looking for a decision to be reached within 18 months. This contrasts the SNP who are focused on an Autumn 2014 vote, a date that happens to coincide with the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn – a historic Scottish victory.

Mitt Romney took another step forward in securing the Republican Party’s nomination after winning the New Hampshire primary by a comfortable margin and joining an elite group of candidates to win their first two contests not as an incumbent. His victory speech took the tone of a man challenging the White House rather than his own party rivals, indicative of his commanding position in the contest.

For the week ending Sunday 15th January the following number of articles were written in the mainstream media according to Journalisted.com

The headlines:

• Scottish first minister Alex Salmond announces plan to hold independence referendum in autumn of 2014, 225 articles
• Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney wins the New Hampshire primary, 146 articles
• The Leveson Inquiry into press ethics and phone hacking continues, 124 articles
• The cruise liner Costa Concordia capsizes off Isola del Giglio, Italy, 102 articles

The overlooked stories:

• MPs to hold an inquiry into racism in sport, and will hear evidence in March, 23 articles
• Turkish authorities charge the Duchess of York with secretly filming orphans for 2008 TV documentary, 22 articles
• TVShack student founder Richard O’Dwyer faces extradition to the United States, 21 articles
• French ferry firm SeaFrance goes into liquidation, 13 articles
• Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits Venezuela as part of his Latin American tour, 10 articles
• Dozens are killed by a bomb blast in Karbala, Iraq, 6 articles
• Boundary changes in Welsh constituencies proposed, which would cut the number of Welsh MPs from 40 to 30, 6 articles
• 15 arrests are made following clashes between English Defence League supporters and youths in East London, 3 articles

Celebrity versus serious:

• Celebrity Big Brother continues, 92 articles versus a video of US troops urinating on the bodies of Taliban fighters emerges, 38 articles
• America braces itself for the Golden Globes, 84 articles versus David Cameron calls for British filmmakers to make more mainstream films, 17 articles
• The second week of ITV’s Dancing on Ice, 50 articles eclipses the news of the government approval High Speed 2, a high-speed rail link connecting London and Birmingham, 36 articles
• American pop singer Justin Bieber gets a tattoo of Jesus, 6 articles versus The Doomsday Clock, maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, edges closer to the symbolic midnight, 5 articles

Political movers

There were large jumps for both George Osbourne (+65%) and William Hague (+59%) but the runaway leader this week with an increase of 634 per cent is leader of the SNP and Scottish first minister Alex Salmond as a result of the debate over a Scottish referendum on independence.

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Internationally, concern continued to grow about the safety of medical implants made by the French firm Poly Implant Prothèse. The issue was lead in the UK with a debate over who would be responsible for the removal silicone implants. Many representatives from the private sector, responsible for 95 per cent of the affected procedures, asserted that the responsibility for resolving any subsequent medical issues relating to the implants did not lay at their door.

In the US, the race to become the Republican Party’s presidential candidate began in earnest this week with the Iowa caucuses. These concluded with the former governor for Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, emerging victorious by a margin of only eight votes. Despite this narrow result Romney is widely expected to win the overall nomination to face the incumbent, Barack Obama, on November 6th.

At the other end of the spectrum, the spotlight of British politics fell upon Diane Abbott after Tweeting ‘white people love playing “divide & rule” we should not play their game #tacticasoldascolonialism’ in response to a conversation with another Twitter user. The lack of a rapid apology, following many outlets decrying the tweet as racist, prompted a small media storm which reached its peak when Abbott walked out of an interview with Sky News to answer a phonecall. Many have claimed was in fact a call from Ed Miliband, Labour party leader, attempting to prevent the MP making the situation any worse.

For the week ending Sunday 8th January, the following number of articles were written in mainstream media according to Journalisted.com

• Gary Dobson and David Norris are found guilty of the murder of Stephen Lawrence 19 years after the crime was committed, 336 articles.
• The faulty PIP breast implants debacle, 141 articles
• Mitt Romney narrowly wins Iowa caucus in race for Republican presidential candidacy, 113 articles
• Diane Abbott causes controversy on Twitter, 75 articles
• 100mph+ winds sweep across Britain, leaving thousands without electricity, 71 articles

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As a contrast the following stories may have slipped your attention:

• Jamaican Prime Minister vows to drop British monarch as head of state, 20 articles
• Dozens killed in suicide bomb attack in Damascus, 17 articles
• In Hungary, thousands take to the street to protest against new constitution, 16 articles
• David Cameron apologises after Tourette’s jibe, 15 articles
• In Nigeria, thousands protest against the scrapping of fuel subsidies, 15 articles
• Jury acquits Michael Peacock in landmark obscenity trial, 4 articles
• The world’s first ‘chimeric’ monkeys are born, 4 articles

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Now for the celebrity news that stole the march on some more serious stories:

• The return of another reality show Celebrity Big Brother, featuring contestants including Michael Madsen, Frankie Cocozza and Natasha Giggs, premieres, 102 articles beats the celebration of Stephen Hawking‘s  70th birthday, 42 articles
• On the other side skating competition Dancing on Ice slides onto our screens, 90 articles Vs William Hague meets Aung San Suu Kyi, the first visit by a British foreign secretary to Burma since 1955 hotly following in the footsteps of US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, 49 articles
• Peaches Geldof announces pregnancy, 11 articles Vs the arrest of Liberal Democrats’ biggest donor, Michael Brown in the Dominican Republic, 5 articles

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The most notable political mover of the week has to be Ed Miliband 191 articles (+91% on last week) as he burst onto the scene by commenting on the passing of former Blockbusters host Bob Holness.

This event would not have been of any major political note had it not been for the initial tweet referring to the gameshow as ‘Blackbusters’.

Coming less than a day after fellow Labour party MP Abbott became embroiled in a Twitter race row many have attributed this error to an unfortunate Freudian slip rather than a typo between letters at extreme ends of the keyboard.

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Much of the excitement surrounding this transition highlighted that some individuals seem unable to mention 2012 without linking it to a small sporting event scheduled to take place this summer (549 articles) or eschatological fears about the world ending in December (54 articles).

This can of course be attributed to the fact that this week marked an extreme case of national news dormancy which was described by some as being invented solely for the purpose of giving people time to “break in” their new slippers.

Despite this there were some signs to indicate the world had totally switched its attention away from footwear with the news of Kim Jong-un acquiring further positions of power over the secretive state of North Korea leading the way ahead of the customary announcement of New Year honours.

For the week ending Sunday 1st January, the following number of articles were written in mainstream media according to Journalisted.com

• In North Korea, Kim Jong-un continues to consolidate his power over North Korea after being named Supreme Commander of the military, 118 articles
• Ronnie Corbett, Lorraine Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter and Alex Crawford among those who were awarded New Year Honours, 114 articles
• Arab League observers monitor Syrian regime, 99 articles
• Police investigate the murder of 23 year Anuj Bidve in Salford on Boxing Day, 97 articles
• The Duke of Edinburgh returned to festive celebrations after undergoing surgery to fit a coronary stent, 94 articles.

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Elsewhere we look at the celebrity news that has over shadowed more “serious” stories.

• The news of celebrity couple Russell Brand and Katy Perry taking the first steps towards a divorce, 34 articles versus fresh bird flu concerns as bus driver from Shenzhen dies from the virus, 10 articles.
• Singer Sinead O’Connor claims to end her fourth marriage, 24 articles versus Chinese activist Chen Xi is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, 14 articles.
• Opera singer Katherine Jenkins and TV presenter Gethin Jones announce split on Twitter, 11 articles versus Portia Simpson Miller of the People’s National Party wins Jamaican election becoming the country’s first female Prime Minister, 11 articles.

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In a year of revolution, comings, goings and the inevitable controversies, it will be interesting to see which of the stories that dominated the media agenda will go on to define 2011 in years to come and which ones fall by the wayside.

For the year 2011 the topics that received the most coverage according to Journalisted.com were…

Relative news coverage of topics in the UK media.

• Protests swept across the Arab world throughout 2011. Known as the ‘Arab Spring’ (3,447 articles), it was sparked by demonstrations in Tunisia, which then spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Oman and Syria: 12,858 articles on Colonel Gaddafi, 3,554 articles on President Assad, 2,449 articles on the protests in Tahrir Square, and 1,363 articles on Tunisia’s Ben Ali
• The News International phone-hacking scandal dominated headlines this year, prompting numerous resignations and the closure of News of the World, 8,260 articles (including 5,820 articles on News of the World, 3,891 articles on Rupert Murdoch, 2,381 articles on Andy Coulson, 2,365 articles on Rebekah Brooks and 1,247 articles on the Leveson Inquiry)
• In the financial world, the Eurozone debt crisis took centre stage, 6,416 articles
• In March, a 9.0 earthquake and a subsequent tsunami hit Japan, destroying towns and villages in the north-east of the country, 3,744 articles (including 3,708 articles on the meltdown of Fukushima nuclear plant which was caused by the natural disaster)
• Osama bin Laden was killed in a US operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, 2,346 articles
• The royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place in April. Millions of viewers worldwide tuned in to watch the ceremony, 1,669 articles
• Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, passed away at the age of 56 in October, 1,593 articles
• The summer riots gripped London and other major cities across the UK, 1,190 articles
• In Norway, right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik carried out two terrorist attacks, killing dozens, 730 articles

Celebrity versus serious

• The eighth series of The X Factor took place this year, 9,381 articles versus the campaign for the US Republican presidential nomination, 1,786 articles
• Strictly Come Dancing also took place this year, McFly’s Harry Judd winning the final, 2,507 articles versus Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned from the IMF after sexual assault allegations in Manhattan, 1,807 articles
• Reality show ‘The Only Way is Essex’ gained popularity, and won a BAFTA, 2,035 articles versus Durban climate talks, 511 articles
• A turbulent year for Kim Kardashian, 976 articles versus Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman win the Nobel Peace Prize, 3 articles
• …And a turbulent year for Lindsay Lohan, 839 articles versus the AV referendum, 824 articles
• …And then there’s Charlie Sheen, 1,187 articles versus the Higgs Boson, a sub-atomic particle, glimpsed by scientists at CERN, 234 articles
• Jedward sang at the Eurovision Song Contest and participated in Big Brother, 773 articles versus UN declared a famine in East Africa, 411 articles

Politics

Featuring in an astonishing 29,803 different articles, there are no surprises that prime minister David Cameron not only leads the way for politicians but was the most covered individual in 2011.

Second place is also unsurprising, in a year where the economy remained at the forefront of national concerns, it was the resident of Number 11 – George Osbourne – who appeared on 12,366 occasions.

In the battle of the party leaders it is in fact deputy prime minister and coalition partner Nick Clegg, 9,291 articles, overshadowed Labour leader Ed Milliband who mustered 8,353. This of course does not take the tone of the coverage into account so second place may not be as rosy a spot at it may first seem.

Elsewhere, there were notable appearances for Tony Blair (6,486 articles), Gordon Brown (5,665 articles), William Hague (4,991 articles), Vince Cable (4,495 articles) and Boris Johnson (3,854 articles).

Sport

In the world of sport a list dominated by footballers was topped by tennis star Andy Murray who appeared in the mainstream media on 4,909 occasions. After beginning the year as the runner up to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, Murray went on to reach the semi-finals of every grandslam including the Wimbledon Championships on home soil.

The phenomenon of “Wimbledon fever” was demonstrated by the fact that 1,130 articles or 23 per cent of all the coverage Murray received in 2011 were confined to the two week period occupied by the tournament in SW19.

As ever, a significant proportion of coverage was focused on some sports stars’ activities off the field with a footballer who shall remain nameless. referred to as CTB during injunction proceedings, the subject of 3,180 stories.

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In Russia, widespread demonstrations broke out over concerns about the transparency of the 4th December legislative elections, with many commentators branding the protests as the beginning of a ‘Russian Spring’… in the winter.

A post-dinner discussion in Belgium was the unlikely setting for this week’s leading story with prime minister David Cameron opposing EU treaty changes that were tabled in a response to the eurozone crisis. Despite its timing at the end of the week the sheer scale of coverage guaranteed the issue wasn’t caught short in its attempts to reach the top spot.

For the week ending Sunday 4th December, the following number of articles were written in mainstream media according to Journalisted.com

• David Cameron vetoes new European Union treaty to protect Eurozone, 532 articles
• Hurricane-force winds hit Scotland, 131 articles
• Widespread protests against Russia’s parliamentary elections, 128 articles
• The Leveson Inquiry into press ethics and phone hacking continues, 121 articles

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Now we look at the celebrity news that has over shadowed more “serious” stories:

• Girl band Little Mix’s success in this year’s edition of The X Factor, 82 articles, garners more coverage than a debate between Republican candidates in Iowa, 79 articles.
• A $4 million luxury car pile up in Japan resulted led to the publication 19 articles compared with the discovery of some of the largest black holes known to science, each ten billion times greater than the sun, which only featured 13 times.
• Coronation Street’s transformation from screen to stage musical, 16 articles, compared with the tragic story of a fire at a Kolkata hospital which claimed 90 lives, 15 articles.

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This week’s big political mover achieved the title this week by virtue of what he was, or perhaps more accurately wasn’t, doing in the early hours of Friday morning whilst European leaders were meeting in Brussels. His response and subsequent toing and froing secured Nick Clegg a 115 per cent increase in coverage from last week which equated to a considerable 266 articles.

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A fascinating side-effect of the strikes was a media storm relating to comments made by the controversial broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson who asserted that the individuals involved should be “lined up and shot”. In a completely unrelated story, sales of this year’s Top Gear book and Mr Clarkson’s own DVD have skyrocked.

Despite these widely covered topics, the most frequent articles of the week were tributes of the former professional footballer and Wales manager Gary Speed, who tragically took his own life on Sunday.

For the week ending Sunday 4th December, the following number of articles were written in mainstream media according to Journalisted.com

• Fans and footballers pay tribute to Wales manager Gary Speed, 462 articles
• The Leveson Inquiry into press ethics and phone hacking, 204 articles (including evidence given by Alastair Campbell, 65 articles, Christopher Jefferies, 26 articles, and Alec Owens, 15 articles)
• Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers take to the streets to protest against pension reforms, 182 articles (including 125 articles on Jeremy Clarkson’s controversial comments made on The One Show)
• The storming of the British Embassy in Tehran prompts William Hague to expel Iranian diplomats in UK, 155 articles
• The BBC ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ award attracts criticism over the lack of nominations for sportswomen, 117 articles

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Now we take a step back to look at the more quirky stories that have overshadowed more “serious” ones.

• The arrival of Giant pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang in Edinburgh sparked 60 articles compared with Hilary Clinton’s historic visit to Burma, the first senior US official to do so in over half a century.
• Robbie Savage’s departure from Strictly Come Dancing, 52 articles, versus stories of severe violence marking elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 20 articles.
• Misha B misses out on a place in the X Factor final, 57 articles, versus Katia Zatuliveter, who worked for Mike Hancock MP and was accused of spying, wins right to stay in Britain, 34 articles

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Finally, we look at that politician that has been turning the most heads. In a week that contained an autumn budget statement and the largest public sector strikes for a generation, chancellor George Osbourne takes top spot featuring in a gargantuan 815 articles, a 139 per cent increase on last week.

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Testimonies from the first witnesses to appear in the Leveson Inquiry stole last week’s media show with the large number of stories being fuelled by the diverse range of individuals involved in proceedings at the High Court. Notable examples include the coverage of Hugh John Mungo Grant, Bob and Sally Dowler and Carine Patry Hoskins, a lawyer in the inquiry who was the subject of the somewhat sexist twitter hashtag #womanontheleft during Mr Grant’s questioning. Journalista wonders whether a male lawyer might have been afforded the same humiliating treatment.

Elsewhere, coverage of the violent Tahir Square protests was up 440% in the build up to nationwide elections in Egypt and a report into the conduct of the England Rugby World Cup squad is leaked.

For the week ending Sunday 27th November, the following number of articles were written in mainstream media according to Journalisted.com

• The Leveson Inquiry into press ethics and phone hacking, 339 articles (including evidence given by Hugh Grant, 120 articles and Bob and Sally Dowler, 106 articles).
• Violent protests involving thousands of people at Tahrir Square in Egypt continue before elections take place, 273 articles.
• Scandal continues to engulf the England Rugby World Cup squad after damning reports of their conduct are leaked, 195 articles.
• The death of Gary Speed, 85 articles.

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Now we look at the celebrity news that has over shadowed more “serious” stories.

• Nick Clegg’s announcement of the Youth Contract, 35 articles, fell behind coverage of British successes at the International Emmy awards, 38 articles.
• Janet Devlin’s final week on The X Factor as she is voted off the show, 36 articles compared with news of the Arcadia group announcing the closure of hundreds of high street stores, 31 articles.
• The Duchess of Cornwall attending a rehearsal of Strictly Come Dancing, 13 articles, was featured on one more occasion than the Youth Justice board quango being saved from the government axe.

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This week’s major political movers were both Liberal Democrat members of the coalition. Coverage of Chris Huhne rose by 359 per cent/ 78 articles, mostly as a result of his partner’s involvement in a row over ministerial access and lobbying, making him the biggest climber beating chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander +204 per cent/ 85 articles.

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Finally, we take a look at a number of witnesses at the Leveson Inquiry and see who was subject of the most headlines: