Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Coverage of Three Major News Stories: February 8 – March 2, 2007 Anna Nicole Smith Coverage – Percent of Newshole Outlet Feb. 8* and 9 Feb. 8* to Mar. 2 Network TV Total (includes PBS) 20% 6% ABC Morning 61 10 ABC Evening 7 1 CBS Morning 60 20 CBS Evening 10 2 NBC Morning […]
A 47-nation survey finds that as economic growth has surged in much of Latin America, East Europe and Asia over the past five years, people are expressing greater satisfaction with their personal lives, family incomes and national conditions. The picture is different in most advanced nations, where growth has been less robust and citizen satisfaction has changed little since 2002.
The war in Iraq eclipsed all other news in the first three months of 2007. The 2008 presidential race was the next biggest story, and most of that was about Democrats. These are among the findings in PEJ’s first quarterly report of its News Coverage Index, which allows us to probe the data more deeply than we can on a weekly basis.
To say Don Imus’s controversial words were a big topic on the talk shows last week is an understatement. The Imus story ruled the talk airwaves like no other since the Index began, taking up 61% of the talk time. But often Imus was less the subject of the talk than a way to take on other people and issues.
For much of 2007, the conflict in Iraq has dominated news coverage. Last week, a scenario that had largely been confined to a few cable hosts—the role of Iran and the possibility of war there—made its way onto the media agenda.
If the signature nightly newscasts were reticent about Smith, their morning show cousins took up the slack, giving over 15% of their first half hour of programming to the story. Network Morning News Percent of Newshole Devoted to Top 5 Stories Feb 9 – March 2, 2007 Story % Anna Nicole Smith 15 Campaign 2008 […]
A GOP debate, a Royal visit, Murdoch’s media move, and a Washington sex scandal all generated their fair share of news coverage last week. But it’s still the battle over Baghdad—with a cast of players that last week included George Tenet and Condoleezza Rice—that captured most of the media’s attention and energy.
The biggest news stories were also the most discussed topics on America’s cable and radio talk shows last week. But the talk hosts often bring their own angles to the main story lines—and that can often involve finding a scapegoat or villain. Plus Imus, Rosie and Alec Baldwin all get play, mostly on the cable airwaves.
Two major news stories, the fired U.S. attorneys story and the argument over Iraq policy, dominated the airwaves on cable and radio talk shows last week. But a look at how the talkhosts operate suggests that it can be passion and personality, rather than the issue itself that often drives the discussion.