How is the debt ceiling being covered on television news? The timeline below shows total mentions of it across CNN, MSNBC and Fox News over the past decade, showing bursts in July 2011, January 2013, October 2013, October 2015, September 2017, July 2019 and the present. Coverage since 2013 has been relatively muted, with only small bursts of mentions compared with the much larger discussions before. Mentions this month are far below previous levels.