“What’s the buzz about something?” What does it mean?

I found a phrase, “What’s the buzz about ...?” in the following sentence in an article of Washington Post (January 20 issue) referring to the State party hosted by President Obama for welcoming Chinese president Hu Jintao, where the House Speaker, John Boehner apparently didn’t show up. What does “What’s the buzz about something?” mean? What the word,”buzz” does in this particular context represent for? Is the connotation of this phrase peripheral to “What’s up?”

I also found an example of “what's the buzz about?” in a short phrase – “So what's the buzz about Michael Jackson's new baby?” in another source. Can somebody clarify for me?

“The question is, and this is what Barack Obama didn't want to answer — is that human life a person under the Constitution and Barack Obama says ... Boehner's no: Just how big of a social and political faux pas was it for Speaker Boehner to say no to the state dinner? What's the buzz about Exactly why he did it? To appear 'tough'? I'd say he just appeared small and petty.

Solution 1:

the relevant definition from m-w.com is:

(noun)
2 e: speculative or excited talk or attention relating especially to a new or forthcoming product or event <one of the few new shows that's getting good buzz — TV Guide>; also : an instance of such talk or attention <their first CD created a huge buzz>

So "what's the buzz about X?" is essentially asking "what are people saying about X?", or perhaps "how does the general public perceive X?"

Solution 2:

The "Buzz about something" phrase is usually used when we talk about the "latest bit of news" about someone or something.

Example: So whats the buzz about who will win the Oscars this time??

Try to imagine bees buzzing all around you. Thats how we would all sound when we talking / gossiping about the latest news.