At Utah Policy.com we do daily national news searches to see what the national media outlets are saying about Utah politics and politicians. Our news aggregator says that, by far, Utah is in the national news more today than at any other time since we launched UPD in 2004. Here is what has kept the national media eye focused on Utah:

Major coverage began last year with Sen. Bob Bennett's primary defeat, which drew an unprecedented amount of attention because it fit perfectly with the media's preferred narrative of the Tea Party as an irrational, destructive political force. Even now, half a year later, there are several articles every day that at least mention or reference it.

Sen. Orrin Hatch has always been in the news, but he's raised his profile lately by becoming the standard-bearer in the Senate for the GOP's fight against Obamacare. If he gets a serious challenge from the Tea Party in 2012, he'll generate a hurricane of coverage, win or lose.

Congressman Jason Chaffetz is a media darling, always tweeting, always ready to give a colorful quote; he seems to calculate everything he says and does to generate the maximum amount of press attention.

Congressman Jim Matheson is one of the top two or three leaders of the Blue Dog Democrats; since the GOP regained the House he's become a crucial fulcrum vote both for and against Obama's most important initiatives, and thus generates a lot of press.

Congressman Rob Bishop has been aggressively spearheading the House GOP's efforts to oppose Obama's public lands, space, and border enforcement policies. Bishop spent years with hardly any media coverage. Now he gets a lot.

Sen. Mike Lee generated news when he won the primary and general elections, but he's really been making waves since he took office. The liberal media is fascinated with his "extremist" views on the Constitution, federal spending, and limited government.

Mitt Romney's presidential candidacy drew enormous attention to Utah, some of it indirectly, but now with both Romney and Jon Huntsman in the presidential mix, it will create a perfect storm of stories about Utah and Mormonism.

As debate rages about healthcare reform, Utah's health insurance exchange is mentioned quite a bit. The shootings in Arizona put a spotlight on Utah's loose gun regulations, and many are watching to see if Utah follows Arizona's lead on immigration reform, or takes a softer position due to the moderating influence of the LDS Church. 

In a time when so many states are about to go bankrupt, Utah's fiscal discipline, it's ability to poach companies from California, it's growing film industry, and it's imaginative economic development programs are gaining notice. Michigan's recent hiring of John Nixon was a reflection of Utah's reputation as one of America's best-managed states.

Utah's Legislature always generates coverage, usually of the derisive sort; the national media delighted recently in mocking Rep. Carl Wimmer's "state gun" proposal.