Local TV News Project 1999
For all the "I-Team" graphics and driving music, enterprise reporting — the serious, proactive journalism that local TV so heavily promotes — is dropping precipitously.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Who Did the Study Meet the 1999 Local TV News Project Team This study was conducted by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a journalists’ group in Washington, D.C., affiliated with Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The scholar team that developed the methodology for measuring newscasts included […]
The memories that are shared by large majorities of Americans are largely of American events and often very recent ones. Memories of significant events that did not include the U.S. are less clear. For example, while three-quarters of Americans remember the moment they heard the news of the outbreak of war in the Persian Gulf, […]
This study was conducted by the Project For Excellence in Journalism, a journalists’ group in Washington D.C. affiliated with Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The scholar team that developed the methodology for measuring newscasts included Lee Ann Brady of Princeton Survey Research Associates; Marion Just, Ph.D., Professor of […]
The overall quality of news coverage — including issues ranging from decreased accuracy to increased sensationalism — remains the most important problem area in journalism today, according to the press. But its relative seriousness has plummeted compared to the loss of credibility with the public. When asked about the validity of various criticisms of the […]
“There just has not been a reason to watch local news for a long time.” That sad summary doesn’t come from a critic, but from a longtime television news consultant, Don Fitzpatrick, president of Don Fitzpatrick and Associates, a San Francisco-based consulting firm. While local news is still the most popular form of TV news, […]
Vernon Jordan News organizations indicated almost immediately that Kenneth Starr was investigating Vernon Jordan for obstruction of justice. The reports said that Starr had tapes on which Monica Lewinsky said Jordan told her she should lie about her relationship with President Clinton. The initial Jan. 21 Washington Post story, for instance, reported that Lewinsky told […]
Betty Currie Shortly after the Lewinsky story broke, Clinton’s personal secretary Betty Currie was named as a potentially important link in Kenneth Starr’s case–a key White House contact for Lewinsky. A round of personality profiles appeared that tried to put a face on the woman–they ranged from that of a motherly friend to Lewinsky, to […]
Survey Findings The situation comedy “Seinfeld” may be the most popular television show of its time, but only half of the people who watch it say they’ll miss it when it’s gone. And even fewer want friends like Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer. Today, 62% of the public says they watch the program, and, at […]
In all, 21% of the reporting was based on anonymous sources. Given the nature of a story involving a grand jury and an ongoing investigation, that may not be so surprising, and some of this reportage three weeks later holds up well. In general, however, the track record of stories with multiple anonymous sources appeared […]