the buzz log
January 2009 Buzz: Handovers, Layoffs, and a Water Landing
If months had psychological disorders, January 2009 would either go down as manic depressive or schizophrenic. In the United States, it was in one era and out the other as a new Oval Office tenant moved in. Inauguration highs however fell to wrenching lows, as pink slips flew like New Year's Day confetti paper. People couldn't even turn to some comfort foods, due to a peanut butter recall. But at least, in one of the coldest winters in years, one man showed just doing his job was enough to be a hero. Here's a quick rundown of January Buzz, and a peek ahead to February.
Welcome, No. 44 and Family
The most searched event of this month, and one of the most closely watched occasion in recent history, was the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, which came on the heels of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Frigid climes couldn't keep an estimated 1.8 million away, and everything from the inaugural address, the oath stumble (and later do-over), and Dick Cheney in a wheelchair drew millions to television sets and the Web to watch. After a night of partying, Barack Obama got to work in short order with executive orders, calling world leaders and wooing Republicans -- who promptly voted against his stimulus package.
Unexpected Twists
Many stories took unexpected turns. As if it weren't tragic enough that John Travolta's son, Jett, died of a seizure during a family Bahamian vacation, three people tried to extort the family ... In another shocking case, Brazilian model Mariana Bridi da Costa's urinary tract infection was misdiagonosed as kidney stones, and her hands and feet were amputated before she finally died of sepsis; the death also triggered searches for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the bacteria that caused the sepsis ... Meanwhile, to add insult to salmonella, the Georgia peanut processing plant responsible for a peanut butter recall knew its food was contaminated, plus had mold and roaches ... Finally, a seemingly happy—if extravagant—octuplet birth spurred ethics discussions with reports that the single mother already had six kids, and still got fertility doctors to implant lots of embryos.
The Event of the Water Landing
Amidst seeming bedlam in politics, weather, and snacktime, one hero pilot emerged when Chesley B. Sullenberger III piloted a US Airways air bus onto the Hudson River ... and the crew and passengers emerged safe. The Web rallied around the captain, especially as his work in aviation safety emerged. For his day's work, Sullenberger got invited to the presidential inauguration, attended a rally in his California hometown, and received an Super Bowl honorable mention, along with his crew.
January 2009 Fastest Movers in Search
Search Terms with the Biggest Percentage Changes
- Jett Travolta (off the charts.)
- Peanut Butter Recall (off the charts.)
- UPCAT Results 2009 (+52,476%)
- Helena Christensen (+40,766%)
- New 7 Wonders of Nature (+37,100%)
- 2009 Detroit Auto Show (+31,216%.)
- 2010 Ford Mustang Concept (+28.883)
- Federal Tax Return (+23,981%)
- Malia Obama (+23,880.)
- Salmonella Symptoms (+21,924%%)
- Britney Spears (-14%)
- Jessica Alba (+4%)
- Barack obama (+133%)
- Beyonce (+95%)
- Jessica Simpson (+62%)
... And Now, a February Buzz Forecast...
Super Bowl kicks off this short month's buzz (Feb. 1)... Black History Month should take on a whole new resonance (1-28)... "American Idol" goes Hollywood (3)... Leave the poor groundhog alone, it's going to be a cold winter (2) ... Happy 200th birthday, Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin (12) ... Stimulation, anyone (16) ... It's feel-good versus feel-good at the earliest Oscar ceremony ever (22) ... The White House dog should be chosen soon, barring any Senate Hearings on the matter (arf).
Filed under: Health, Recalls, Celebrities, Aviation, Food, Monthly Wrapup, Recaps, Adult Swim, Death, Heroes, Presidents
Crash Pilot Gets Elite Hero Status
Less than halfway through the first month of 2009, and America already has a new hero.
Jittery fears over a New York City airplane crash turned to widespread relief when the pilot managed to land a U.S. Airways airbus into the Hudson River on January 15. Yes, the water was cold (40 degrees on a 20-degree day), but the plane didn't immediately sink, no nearby boats were crushed, every single passenger emerged safely, and Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III instantly got elevated to elite status on the Web.
The people monitoring the "plane crash," "airplane crash new york," "airplane crash in hudson river," and "us airways crash" online quickly turned to pore over the hero pilot's credentials. As searchers for "chesley sullenberger" found out, this was a guy made for worst-case scenarios: According to the Associated Press, Sullenberger flew F-4 fighter jets in '70s, investigated aircraft accidents, is president of a safety consulting firm, and studied the "psychology of keeping airline crews functioning even in the face of crisis."
Time magazine's two-minute bio also cited his position as a visiting scholar to the very severe-sounding University of California at Berkeley's Center for Catastrophic Risk Management. U.S. News & World Report highlighted the 57-year-old pilot's long career as "evidence that companies should hold on to their older and experienced workers."
Searches also rose for "fans of sully sullenberger," which are manifold on Facebook: So far, the captain can count about nine variations of "fans of" groups. That doesn't include the "Captain C.B. Sully Sullenberger" Facebook page, which reaped nearly 20,000 fans in less than 48 hours. (A nation's gratitude does have its drawbacks: His family have had to duck the media hordes and sustain themselves on a diet of In-N-Out burgers.)
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are talking to Sullenberger and copilot Jeff Skiles on Friday, but a curious public has already started its own online inquiry into "snarge," which Fox News calls the remains of birds hit by planes (one widely reported theory behind the crash) and "ditch switch," which CBS News explains "seals the underbelly of the plane to make it more buoyant." (Interestingly, a "ditch switch" search on Yahoo! yields a link to a pilot forum topic, "The Time a Widebody Takes to Sink," with one poster pointing out, "The question, I would think, isn't how long it will float, it's how will the pilots manage to get the thing down intact ... not something I'd want to experience first hand.")
While normally such incidents prompt a look back at lessons from past accidents, the so-called 'Miracle on the Hudson' has shown how well the airline industry has learned from them this time. Given the recent Federal Aviation Administration whistleblower scandals about cozy relationships between inspectors and airlines, the timing for a hero is about right. And while media are always eager to bestow that title, aviation experts believe Sully deserves it (even if Mrs. Sullenberger thinks the designation is "a little weird"). Said one pilot and aviation consultant to AFP, "I would definitely call the guy a hero. To have no fatalities--that is remarkable."
Incidentally, just two days before the accident, NPR reported that fixing the FAA's problems figured high on the president-elect's priority list. If Barack Obama needs some recommendations for an airline safety czar, some people might just have a name to offer up.
We Need Plenty of Heroes
If you were in a bind, wouldn't you want a guy who can stop time or a cheerleader who never gets hurt by your side? Or maybe you'd prefer a helping hand from a stripper with deadly mirror-image. Some have said we don't need heroes, but try telling that to viewers of NBC's hit science fiction show.
Since its debut last fall, "Heroes" has battled its way onto lists of both top-rated and Emmy-nominated television series. The show's gritty rendition of a world with super-powered people seems to have a shelf-life. The release of "Heroes: Season 1" proves we all need a hero, with queries for "heroes dvd" rising up 460% into the sky. Anticipation for "heroes season 2," which starts on September 24, is likewise on an heroic upswing.
The characters from NBC's show aren't the only heroes in Search. Others in the top echelon include Guitar Hero 3, Gym Class Heroes, Company of Heroes, City of Heroes, and Hero Online. Somehow, we think Tina Turner may have been wrong after all.
'Heroes' Saves the Day
"Heroes" is huge. You know it. We know it. Now "24"'s Jack Bauer knows it too. The "Heroes" season finale topped its Fox-y competition—both in the ratings and the Buzz.
Searches on "Heroes" spiked 78%, pushing the show into our top 100 overall terms. Interest in "heroes season finale" and "heroes spoilers" also soared. Contrast that with "24." Following its finale, the struggling serial surged 43% and landed among our top 250 queries. Not a bad showing, but by no means heroic.
"Heroes"' status as a Buzz monster is well established, but can the show keep up the momentum? The highway is littered with programs like "The Apprentice" that started strong but wound up ratings roadkill. For the sake of all humanity, here's hoping "the cheerleader" can avoid "the Donald"'s tragic fate.
There Go Our Heroes
NBC's Heroes continues to soar in Search. The show's clever writers have a part in its success, but we suspect the photogenic cast deserves the lion's share of the credit. After all, would "Heroes" be nearly as heroic if it starred a bunch of homely geeks? (Rhetorical question, no need to answer.)
Still, not all heroes are created equal. Searches vary wildly from actor to actor depending mainly on—let's face it—"certain physical characteristics." Below, we've listed the show's stars in order of their popularity. Who would have guessed the two hotties would finish one and two?
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford 400 | Breakout! |
| 2 | Indonesia Ferry | Breakout! |
| 3 | Jordan Chandler | 3481% |
| 4 | Evan Chandler | 2322% |
| 5 | American Music Awards | 1841% |
| 6 | John F. Kennedy | 1529% |
| 7 | Turkey Stuffing Recipes | 1361% |
| 8 | Liam Hemsworth | 1172% |
| 9 | Lou Dobbs | 1142% |
| 10 | Hendrick Motorsports | 888% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Friday | +340 | 1290 |
| 2 | NFL | +489 | 670 |
| 3 | Jennifer Lopez | +451 | 515 |
| 4 | New Moon | -67 | 250 |
| 5 | American Music Awards | +236 | 249 |
| 6 | UFC | -36 | 239 |
| 7 | Miley Cyrus | +66 | 169 |
| 8 | Hulu | -11 | 154 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
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