Journalism

The state of the American news media in 2008 is more troubled than a year ago. And the problems, increasingly, appear to be different than many experts have predicted.

Two overriding, continuing stories took turns dominating headlines in 2007. As the year began, the increasingly bloody Iraq war and the fierce political debate over war strategy drove intensive coverage of the conflict. And the launch of Barack Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s presidential candidacies at the outset of the year triggered aggressive coverage of the earliest-starting campaign in U.S. history.

Newspapers are still far from dead, but the language of the obituary is creeping in. The industry has been in declining health for some time now. It got sicker rather than better in 2007, and 2008 offers no prospect of a quick cure.

After a decade of high hopes, there are increasing concerns about the Web’s ability to meet the news industry’s financial challenges.

After a tumultuous 2006 with shakeups among anchor and executives, 2007 marked a return to more stability for network news.

Cable television news showed further signs of maturity in 2007. After a year of losses, the medium regained viewers, especially at prime time, though the roster of winners is changing.