Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

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Journalism

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    News Coverage Conveys Strong Momentum for Same-Sex Marriage

    News stories focused on support for same-sex marriage outnumbered those opposing it by roughly 5-to-1 in the two months marked by Supreme Court deliberations on the issue, according to the latest study in Pew Research’s LGBT in Changing Times series. Did statements of support vary by media sector? Did reactions on Twitter differ from the news media? How was the topic covered in LGBT outlets? The new study offers answers.

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    South Carolina valedictorian reignites debate on prayer in school

    Earlier this month, the valedictorian at Liberty (S.C.) High School ripped up his prepared graduation speech, which had been approved by school officials, and instead recited the Lord’s Prayer at the public school’s graduation ceremony. According to CNN, Roy Costner IV said he was trying to make a statement that “taking prayer out of schools […]

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    Nonprofit news organizations: some want government subsidy

    News outlets often have an adversarial relationship with the government, a longstanding tension  underscored most recently by the Obama administration’s pursuit of leaks to the Associated Press and Fox News Channel and the decisions of the Washington Post and the Guardian newspapers to publish National Security Agency documents. Nevertheless, it might come as a surprise […]

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    Nonprofit News Outlets

    Nonprofit news sites are cropping up around the U.S., often with the mission of filling in gaps left by cutbacks in traditional journalism. Explore the characteristics of these sites with this map and interactive database.

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    As the Trayvon Martin case goes to trial, remembering a major media event

    Today marks the beginning of what is likely to be a closely watched courtroom battle—the murder trial of George Zimmerman for the fatal shooting of 17-year old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida on February 26, 2012. While there has been ongoing coverage of the case and the run-up to the trial, it may be hard […]

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    Nonprofit Journalism: A Growing but Fragile Part of the U.S. News System

    As the economics of commercial journalism have been upended and newsrooms have shrunk, a variety of funders have sponsored nonprofit news operations to fill perceived information gaps. A report finds that while they voice optimism about the future, many organizations worry that they don’t have sufficient business-side resources.

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    Is MSNBC the place for opinion?

    MSNBC president Phil Griffin generated plenty of media attention this week when he said, in a New York Times interview, that his channel was “not the place” for breaking news. “Our brand is not that.” Griffin was responding to a significant decline in MSNBC’s ratings, which the Times reported was down 18% in prime time […]

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    Newsweek By the Numbers

    After a few very difficult years, Newsweek magazine, which sold for $1 three years ago, may be up for sale again. A Pew Research Center analysis of news magazine economics in the past half dozen years finds that in a difficult period for newsweeklies in general, the turmoil and decline at Newsweek has been particularly noteworthy.

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    Al Jazeera America’s biggest challenge: ’getting people to show up’

    It’s not on the air yet but, already, Al Jazeera America is creating a buzz in the world of journalism. Unlike so many news outlets that have been shedding staff the past few years, it’s hiring (and hiring big), bringing on about 800 employees as it prepares to launch an ambitious cable news channel later this year.