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2005 Content Analysis Topline

PEJ 2005 State of the News Media Content Analysis Topline

Outlet

Date

TOTAL

Network

Cable

21&22 Mar

24-Mar

N=108

N=57

N=51

N=72

N=36
DATE
March 21st

41.7%

42.1%

41.2%

62.5%

-
March 22nd

25.0

24.6

25.5

37.5

-
March 24th

33.3

33.3

33.3

-

100%
Total

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%
LIVE V TAPE
Live report

49.1%

43.9%

54.9%

57.0%

33.3%
Live phone

12.0

10.5

13.7

8.3

13.9
Combo

11.1

10.5

11.8

23.6

16.7
All tape

27.8

35.1

19.6

11.1

36.1
Total

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%
ORIGIN
Iraq

71.3%

77.2%

64.7%

59.7%

94.4%
Kuwait

21.3

19.3

23.5

30.6

2.8
Other ME

1.8

-

3.9

2.8

-
At Sea

5.6

3.5

7.9

6.9

2.8
Total

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%
TOPIC
Mil. Action

27.8%

22.8%

33.3%

15.3%

52.8%
Same-day results

13.0

12.2

13.7

15.3

8.3
Pre-combat

31.5

38.6

23.5

43.0

8.3
Personnel/equip

15.7

15.8

15.7

16.7

13.9
Aftermath

6.5

5.3

7.9

6.9

5.6
Other

5.5

5.3

5.9

2.8

11.1
Total

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%
TOP SOURCE
Mil. Commissioned

14.8%

14.0%

15.7%

15.3%

13.9%
Other Military

8.3

3.5

13.7

8.3

8.3
Reporter Only

76.9

82.5

70.6

76.4

77.8
Total

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%
CLOSEST VIDEO
Weapons Fired

21.3%

19.3%

23.5%

13.9%

36.1%
human impact

-

-

-

-

-
non-human impact

10.2

10.5

9.8

8.3

13.9
no results

11.1

8.8

13.7

5.6

22.2
Front-line ready

11.1

12.3

9.8

9.7

13.9
Moving/Maneuvers

32.4

38.6

25.5

38.9

19.4
Non front line

10.2

10.5

9.8

12.5

5.6
Other

1.8

3.5

-

2.8

-
No Video aspect

23.2

15.8

31.4

22.2

25.0
Total

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%
REPORTING
Fact

93.5%

91.2%

96.1%

93.1%

94.4%
Analysis

1.9

3.5

-

1.4

2.8
Opinion

0.9

1.8

-

-

2.8
Commentary

3.7

3.5

3.9

5.5

-
Total

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%
LENGTH
Under 1 minute

8.3%

12.3%

3.9%

6.9%

11.1%
1 minute

35.2

42.1

27.5

30.6

44.5
2 minutes

29.7

33.3

25.5

27.8

33.3
3 minutes

11.1

7.0

15.7

15.3

2.8
4 minutes

8.3

3.5

13.7

8.3

8.3
5+ minutes

7.4

1.8

13.7

11.1

-
Total

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

 

 

Newspapers

 

Sample Dates:
January 13th, 16th, 23rd
February 2nd, 13th, 23rd, 29th
March 8th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 19th, 24th
April 8th, 15th
May 1st, 4th, 20th
June 8th, 9th, 16th
July 19th, 25th
August 10th, 12th
September 4th, 22nd, 26th

Total N = 6,589 stories

All

All

All

All

Newspapers

Sections

Sections

Sections

Total

Front Page

Circ 1

Circ 2 & 3

Circ 4

N=6589

N=2334

N=1595

N=3323

N=1671
TIMEFRAME

%

%

%

%

%
Primary Season

25

25

24

25

26
Early Campaign

51

51

53

51

49
Convention Time

17

17

16

18

18
Post Convention

7

7

7

7

7
PLACEMENT

%

%

%

%

%
Front Page

35

100

40

33

35
Sports Front

32

0

31

30

35
Metro Front

33

0

28

37

30
STORY LENGTH

%

%

%

%

%
100 Words or Fewer

2

16

*

2

4
101-500 Words

23

44

6

20

47
501-1000 Words

52

35

41

61

46
Above 1000 Words

22

5

53

17

3
STORY ORIGINATION

%

%

%

%

%
Staff Reported

73

72

89

72

61
Wire

15

25

*

15

32
Combo Staff/Wire

1

2

2

1

1
Staff Column

9

1

9

12

3
Column – Affil. Organization

0

0

0

0

0
Column – No Affiliation

*

*

0

*

1
No Source/Can’t Tell

1

*

*

*

3
STORY TRIGGER
Spontaneous News/Action

10

16

9

11

11
Coverage of Planned Events/Actions

72

64

66

71

80
Newsroom-Initiated/Other

17

21

25

18

9
BIG STORY/RECURRING LEAD
All Big Stories

30

47

42

29

21
U.S. War on Terror – Iraq/Afghanistan

7

17

9

6

5
U.S. War on Terror – Domestic

*

1

1

*

*
Presidential Campaign

4

9

7

4

1
International

2

7

3

2

2
U.S.-based Stories

5

11

6

5

5
Sports

12

2

16

11

8
Not a Big Story

70

53

58

71

79
NEWSMAKER

%

%

%

%

%
All Single Newsmaker

48

44

47

49

46
All Institutional Newsmaker

42

43

42

41

45
No Primary Newsmaker

10

13

11

10

9
STORY TOPIC
ALL GOVERNMENT

28

37

27

28

28
Exec. Branch/Admin

4

8

6

4

3
Nat’l/State/Local (Legislation or Institution)

10

10

7

10

13
Government Agencies

5

7

5

5

5
Defense/Military

1

2

1

1

*
Law/Courts

8

10

8

9

8
CAMPAIGNS/ELECTIONS

5

9

7

5

3
ALL DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

16

22

17

16

14
Disease/Public Health

1

1

1

1

1
Economics/Bus. – non-legislative

2

4

3

2

2
Education

2

2

1

3

2
Environment

1

1

1

1

*
Health Care System

1

1

1

1

1
Crime Incidents

3

3

3

3

4
Crime Trends

1

1

1

*

*
Sprawl/Development

1

*

*

1

*
Transportation

1

1

1

*
Terrorist Acts

2

5

2

2

1
Terrorism – Prevention Efforts

1

2

2

*

*
Domestic Affairs Other

2

2

2

2

1
ALL FOREIGN AFFAIRS

5

14

7

5

4
Foreign Affairs-Diplomacy

2

5

3

2

1
Foreign Affairs-Military Activities

4

9

5

3

3
ALL SPONTANEOUS EVENTS

2

3

1

2

3
Accidents (no intent)

1

2

1

1

2
Unusual Weather

1

1

*

1

1
Catastrophes/Disasters (no intent)

*

1

*

*

*
SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

1

3

1

1

1
Science

*

1

1

*

*
Medical Research

*

1

*

1

*
Technology

*

1

*

*

*
CELEBRITY/ENTERTAINMENT

1

1

1

1

1
Entertainment/Celeb

1

1

1

1

1
Celeb. Crime/Scandal

*

*

*

*

*
LIFESTYLE

7

7

5

8

7
Human Interest/Popular Behavior

*

1

*

1

*
Pop Culture

*

*

*

*

0
Health Trends

*

*

*

*

*
Religion

1

1

1

1

*
Travel

*

*

*

*

*
Cooking/Food

*

*

*

*

*
Family/Parenting

1

1

*

1

1
Civilization/Culture/High Arts

1

1

1

1

1
Other

3

3

2

4

4
SPORTS

32

3

32

31

34
Olympics

1

*

2

1

1
Other

31

3

30

30

33
OTHER

3

2

2

3

4
Consumer News

*

*

*

*

*
News Media

1

1

1

*

*
Oddball News

*

*

*

*

*
Weather (non-disaster)

*

*

0

*

*
Other

2

1

1

2

3
STORY TOPIC BY REGION

%

%

%

%

%
All Local/Metro

65

45

43

72

73
All Regional

4

5

6

3

5
All National

20

24

33

16

14
All U.S.-Related International

9

19

14

8

7
All Non-U.S. Related International

3

7

5

2

1
SOURCES NAMED W/ RELATIONSHIP IDENTIFIED

%

%

%

%

%
None

7

2

2

7

13
One

12

6

5

12

18
Two or Three

33

28

25

33

42
Four or More

48

64

68

48

27
ANONYMOUS SOURCING

%

%

%

%

%
No “anonymous” or “unnamed” sources

93

87

88

94

97
“Anonymous” or “unnamed” sources present

7

13

12

6

3
DATA SOURCES NAMED
WITH RELATIONSHIP EXPLAINED

%

%

%

%

%
None

91

84

87

91

94
One

8

12

10

8

5
Two or Three

1

3

3

1

*
Four or More

*

1

*

*

*
PRESENCE OF MULTIPLE VIEWPOINTS
For this variable only, n =3437

%

%

%

%

%
Mix of Opinions

76

82

82

74

70
Mostly One Opinion

10

9

10

9

9
All of One Opinion

15

9

9

16

20
STAKEHOLDER PRESENCE

%

%

%

%

%
One

10

6

4

12

13
Two

32

21

19

35

38
Three

19

19

19

20

18
Four or More

39

54

58

33

31
JOURNALIST OPINION/SPECULATION
No opinion present

85

94

79

85

91
One statement of opinion

7

4

10

6

6
Two or more staements of opinion

8

2

10

8

3
Not applicable (opinion piece)

*

*

1

*

*
DOMINANT STORY FRAME
Conflict

10

15

11

11

7
Consensus

4

6

3

4

4
Winners and/or Losers

10

7

10

10

11
Problem-Solving

7

9

10

7

4
Good Yarn

13

10

14

14

11
How-to

3

2

1

2

5
How We Got Here/Where We Go From Here

10

11

12

10

8
Reality Check

4

7

6

4

2
Underlying Principles

1

1

2

*

*
Other/Multiple Frames

5

7

6

7

3
No Frame Present

33

27

26

30

44
STORY FRAME
No Story Frame Present

33

27

26

30

44
Single Dominant Frame

57

59

60

58

52
Dominant Frame/Additional Frame Incorporated

4

7

7

5

1
Multiple Frames

5

7

6

7

3
BY VOLUME
TOTAL N = 5,170,291

All

All

All

Total

Sections

Sections

Sections

Total

Front Page

Circ 1

Circ 2 & 3

Circ 4
STORY ORIGINATION

%

%

%

%

%
Staff Reported

77

81

91

74

60
Wire

12

17

*

14

33
Combo Staff/Wire

1

1

1

1

1
Staff Column

9

0

8

11

4
Column – Affil. Organization

0

0

0

0

0
Column – No Affiliation

*

*

0

*

1
No Source/Can’t Tell

*

*

*

*

2
STORY TOPIC

%

%

%

%

%
ALL GOVERNMENT

29

36

28

29

30
Exec. Branch/Admin

5

8

7

4

3
Nat’l/State/Local (Legislation or Institution)

10

9

7

10

14
Government Agencies

5

7

5

5

5
Defense/Military

1

2

1

1

1
Law/Courts

8

10

8

9

7
CAMPAIGNS/ELECTIONS

6

11

8

5

3
ALL DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

17

23

19

17

14
Disease/Public Health

1

1

1

1

1
Economics/Bus. – non-legislative

3

4

3

3

2
Education

2

2

2

3

2
Environment

1

1

1

1

*
Health Care System

1

1

1

1

1
Crime Incidents

3

3

2

3

3
Crime Trends

1

1

1

1

*
Sprawl/Development

1

1

1

1

*
Transportation

1

1

1

1

*
Terrorist Acts

2

4

2

2

2
Terrorism – Prevention Efforts

1

2

2

*

*
Domestic Affairs Other

2

2

2

2

1
ALL FOREIGN AFFAIRS

6

14

8

5

5
Foreign Affairs-Diplomacy

2

4

3

2

1
Foreign Affairs-Military Activities

4

9

5

4

4
ALL SPONTANEOUS EVENTS

2

2

1

2

3
Accidents (no intent)

1

1

1

1

2
Unusual Weather

*

1

*

1

1
Catastrophes/Disasters (no intent)

*

1

*

*

*
SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

1

3

1

2

1
Science

*

1

*

*

*
Medical Research

*

1

*

1

*
Technology

*

1

*

1

*
CELEBRITY/ENTERTAINMENT

1

1

1

1

1
Entertainment/Celeb

1

1

1

1

1
Celeb. Crime/Scandal

*

*

*

*

*
LIFESTYLE

7

7

5

7

6
Human Interest/Popular Behavior

*

*

*

1

*
Pop Culture

*

*

*

*

0
Health Trends

*

*

*

*

*
Religion

1

1

1

1

*
Travel

*

*

*

*

*
Cooking/Food

*

*

*

*

*
Family/Parenting

1

1

*

1

1
Civilization/Culture/High Arts

1

1

1

1

1
Other

3

3

2

3

4
SPORTS

29

3

26

29

33
Olympics

2

*

2

1

1
Other

27

3

24

28

32

%

%

%

%

%
OTHER

2

2

2

2

4
Consumer News

*

*

*

*

*
News Media

1

1

1

*

*
Oddball News

*

*

*

*

*
Weather (non-disaster)

*

*

0

*

*
Other

2

1

1

1

3
*NOTE: Due to rounding, totals may not equal 100%

 

 

Online

Sample Dates:

January 13th, 16th, 23rd
February 2nd, 13th, 23rd, 29th
March 8th*, 12th, 13th, 14th, 19th*, 24th
April 8th, 15th
May 1st, 4th, 20th,
June 8th, 9th, 16th*
July 19th, 25th
August 10th*, 12th*
September 4th, 22nd, 26th

*Multiple Download Dates

Total N = 1,903 Stories

Total

N=1903

%
TIMEFRAME
Primary Season

17
Early Campaign

53
Convention Time

25
Post Convention

5
STORY LENGTH
100 Words or Fewer

1
101-500 Words

20
501-1000 Words

48
Above 1000 Words

32
STORY ORIGINATION
Staff Reported

30
Wire Service

58
Combo Staff/Wire

9
Staff Column

2
Column – Affil. Organization

*
Column – No Affiliation

*
No Source/Can’t Tell

*
STORY TRIGGER
Spontaneous News/Action

25
Coverage of Planned Events/Actions

62
Newsroom-Initiated/Other

13
BIG STORY/RECURRING LEAD
All Big Stories

73
U.S. War on Terror – Iraq/Afghanistan

31
U.S. War on Terror – Domestic

4
Presidential Campaign

8
International

9
U.S.-based Stories

20
Sports

2
Not a Big Story

27
NEWSMAKER
All Single Newsmaker

54
All Institutional Newsmaker

39
No Primary Newsmaker

7
STORY TOPIC
ALL GOVERNMENT

33
Exec. Branch/Admin

10
Nat’l/State/Local (Legislation or Institution)

5
Government Agencies

5
Defense/Military

1
Law/Courts

12
CAMPAIGNS/ELECTIONS

8
ALL DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

24
Disease/Public Health

*
Economics/Bus. – non-legislative

3
Education

*
Environment

*
Health Care System

*
Crime Incidents

2
Crime Trends

0
Sprawl/Development

*
Transportation

*
Terrorist Acts

11
Terrorism – Prevention Efforts

4
Domestic Affairs Other

2
ALL FOREIGN AFFAIRS

16
Foreign Affairs-Diplomacy

4
Foreign Affairs-Military Activities

12
ALL SPONTANEOUS EVENTS

6
Accidents (no intent)

2
Unusual Weather

2
Catastrophes/Disasters (no intent)

2
SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

1
Science

1
Medical Research

*
Technology

*
CELEBRITY/ENTERTAINMENT

3
Entertainment/Celeb

2
Celeb. Crime/Scandal

1
LIFESTYLE

3
Human Interest/Popular Behavior

*
Pop Culture

*
Health Trends

*
Religion

*
Travel

*
Cooking/Food

*
Family/Parenting

*
Civilization/Culture/High Arts

*
Other

1
SPORTS

2
Olympics

*
Other

2
OTHER

3
Consumer News

*
News Media

1
Oddball News

1
Weather (non-disaster)

0
Other

1
STORY TOPIC BY REGION
All Local/Metro

12
All Regional

10
All National

33
All U.S.-Related International

32
All Non-U.S. Related International

13
SOURCES NAMED W/ RELATIONSHIP IDENTIFIED
None

7
One

16
Two or Three

32
Four or More

46
ANONYMOUS SOURCING
No “anonymous” or “unnamed” sources

81
“Anonymous” or “unnamed” sources present

19
DATA SOURCES NAMED
WITH RELATIONSHIP EXPLAINED
None

89
One

9
Two or Three

2
Four or More

*
PRESENCE OF MULTIPLE VIEWPOINTS
For this variable only, n = 1,396
Mix of Opinions

85
Mostly One Opinion

7
All of One Opinion

8
STAKEHOLDER PRESENCE
One

4
Two

18
Three

21
Four or More

56
JOURNALIST OPINION/SPECULATION
No opinion present

93
One statement of opinion

4
Two or more staements of opinion

3
Not applicable (opinion piece)

0
DOMINANT STORY FRAME
Conflict

11
Consensus

3
Winners and/or Losers

8
Problem-Solving

6
Good Yarn

8
How-to

1
How We Got Here/Where We Go From Here

8
Reality Check

4
Underlying Principles

1
Other/Multiple Frames

3
No Frame Present

48
STORY FRAME
No Story Frame Present

48
Single Dominant Frame

47
Dominant Frame/Additional Frame Incorporated

2
Multiple Frames

3
STORY FRESHNESS (N=884 stories)
Package/Story/Interview – Exact Replay

26
Repeat Story – No Substantive, New Information

2
Repeat Story – New Angle Added, w/o New Information

*
Repeat storyline – w/ Substantive, New Information

11
New Story, First Appearance

60
CURRENT VIDEO LINK
0 links

71
1-3 links

27
4+ links

2
HISTORICAL/BACKGROUND VIDEO LINK
0 links

95
1-3 links

4
4+ links

1
UNDETERMINED VIDEO LINK
0 links

97
1-3 links

2
4+ links

*
CURRENT AUDIO LINK
0 links

99
1-3 links

1
4+ links

*
HISTORICAL/BACKGD. AUDIO LINK
0 links

99
1-3 links

1
4+ links

*
UNDETERMINED AUDIO LINK
0 links

99
1-3 links

1
4+ links

0
CURRENT PHOTO ESSAY/GALLERY LINK
0 links

81
1-3 links

19
4+ links

*
HISTORIC/BACKGD. PHOTO ESSAY/GALLERY
0 links

93
1-3 links

6
4+ links

1
UNDETERMINED PHOTO ESSAY/GALLERY LINK
0 links

94
1-3 links

6
4+ links

*
CURRENT GRAPHIC/MAP LINK
0 links

87
1-3 links

13
4+ links

*
HISTORICAL/BACKGD. GRAPHIC/MAP LINK
0 links

94
1-3 links

6
4+ links

*
UNDETERMINED GRAPHIC/MAP LINK
0 links

98
1-3 links

2
4+ links

*

Stories from Multiple Download Dates

Sample Dates:

March 8th, 19th
June 16th
August 10th, 12th

Total N = 884 Stories

Total

9:00 AM

1:00 PM

5:00 PM

9:00 PM

N=884

N=214

N=211

N=223

N=236

%

%

%

%

%
STORY FRESHNESS
Package/Story/Interview – Exact Replay

26

0

30

33

37
Repeat Story – No Substantive, New Information

2

0

2

3

4
Repeat Story – New Angle Added, w/o New Information

*

0

*

0

*
Repeat storyline – w/ Substantive, New Information

11

0

12

16

16
New Story, First Appearance

60

100

55

48

42
CURRENT VIDEO LINK
0 links

71

75

73

68

69
1-3 links

27

24

25

29

29
4+ links

2

2

2

3

2
HISTORICAL/BACKGROUND VIDEO LINK
0 links

95

94

95

96

97
1-3 links

4

5

4

4

3
4+ links

1

1

1

*

0
UNDETERMINED VIDEO LINK
0 links

97

95

99

99

98
1-3 links

2

5

1

1

2
4+ links

*

*

0

0

0
CURRENT AUDIO LINK
0 links

99

99

99

98

99
1-3 links

1

1

1

2

1
4+ links

*

0

0

0

*
HISTORICAL/BACKGD. AUDIO LINK
0 links

99

99

99

100

98
1-3 links

1

*

1

0

2
4+ links

*

*

0

0

0
UNDETERMINED AUDIO LINK
0 links

99

99

99

99

100
1-3 links

1

1

1

1

*
4+ links

0

0

0

0

0
CURRENT PHOTO ESSAY/GALLERY LINK
0 links

81

81

81

80

85
1-3 links

19

19

19

20

15
4+ links

*

0

0

*

0
HISTORIC/BACKGD. PHOTO ESSAY/GALLERY
0 links

93

91

93

94

94
1-3 links

6

8

6

5

6
4+ links

1

1

1

*

*
UNDETERMINED PHOTO ESSAY/GALLERY LINK
0 links

94

92

93

94

96
1-3 links

6

8

7

6

4
4+ links

*

*

0

*

*
CURRENT GRAPHIC/MAP LINK
0 links

87

88

86

85

90
1-3 links

13

12

13

15

10
4+ links

*

0

1

*

*
HISTORICAL/BACKGD. GRAPHIC/MAP LINK
0 links

94

93

94

95

93
1-3 links

6

7

6

5

7
4+ links

*

*

0

1

0
UNDETERMINED GRAPHIC/MAP LINK
0 links

98

97

98

97

99
1-3 links

2

3

2

2

1
4+ links

*

*

*

1

0

 

Network

All All All
N = 1,992 including banter and promos/teasers Commercial PBS Commercial
N for stories = 1,768 Total Evening News NewsHour Morning News
N=1,768 N=674 N=275 N=819
PLACEMENT % % % %
1st Segment 63.7 51.8 94.4 62.7
2-3rd Segment 27.7 38.7 5.6 26.6
4-9th Segment 8.6 9.5 10.7
STORY LENGTH % % % %
Brief, 0-30 seconds 27 34.1 37.1 18.9
Short report, 31-60 seconds 8 5 16.4 7.7
Report, 61-180 seconds 45 55.2 13.4 47.4
Long report, 181-290 seconds 11.6 5.2 3.7 18.4
In-depth report, 291 seconds & greater 8.4 0.4 29.4 7.7
STORY ORIGINATION % % % %
Package with editing 40.5 59.3 18.9 32.1
Staff External Interview 13.3 0.4 18.5 22.1
Staff In-house Interview 4.7 1 0.7 9.2
Staff Live Stand-ups 0.4 0.4 0.5
Anchor Reads 21 18 46.9 14.6
Anchor Voice Over 20.1 20.8 14.9 21.4
STORY TRIGGER
Spontaneous News/Action 23.5 29.1 21.1 19.7
Coverage of Planned Events/Actions 64.9 56.1 69.5 70.7
Newsroom-Initiated/Other 11.6 14.8 9.5 9.6
BIG STORY/RECURRING LEAD
All Big Stories
U.S. War on Terror – Iraq/Afghanistan 21.4 26.3 28.4 15
U.S. War on Terror – Domestic 5.9 5.9 5.5 6.1
Presidential Campaign 9 10.4 11.3 7.2
International 4.2 5.5 8 2
U.S.-based Stories 14.4 10.7 8.7 19.4
Sports 1.8 1.5 1.5 2.1
Not a Big Story 43.2 39.8 36.7 48.2
NEWSMAKER % % % %
All Single Newsmaker 38.4 36.5 21.8 45.5
All Institutional Newsmaker 26.5 32.8 22.9 22.6
No Primary Newsmaker 35.1 30.7 55.3 31.9
STORY TOPIC
ALL GOVERNMENT 28.4
Exec. Branch/Admin 7.2 10.1 10.5 3.8
Nat’l/State/Local (Legislation or Institution) 1.6 3.1 1.5 0.4
Government Agencies 7.4 9.3 7.6 5.6
Defense/Military 0.7 1 1.8
Law/Courts 7.2 4.9 4 10.3
CAMPAIGNS/ELECTIONS 8.1 8.8 10.9 6.7
ALL DOMESTIC AFFAIRS 30.8
Disease/Public Health 2.2 1.6 2.2 2.7
Economics/Bus. – non-legislative 5.6 8.2 11.3 1.6
Education 0.1 0.4 0.1
Environment 0.8 0.9 0.4 1
Health Care System 0.3 0.3 1.1 0.1
Crime Incidents 2.9 1.6 2.2 4.3
Crime Trends 0.1 0.1 0.1
Sprawl/Development
Transportation 0.2 0.6
Terrorist Acts 7 8.2 9.1 5.4
Terrorism – Prevention Efforts 2 2.5 1.8 1.6
Domestic Affairs Other 5.5 6.8 4.4 4.8
ALL FOREIGN AFFAIRS 13.5
Foreign Affairs-Diplomacy 0.6 0.1 2.9 0.1
Foreign Affairs-Military Activities 11 13.4 16.7 7.2
ALL SPONTANEOUS EVENTS 4.3
Accidents (no intent) 1.2 0.6 0.4 2.1
Unusual Weather 0.6 0.1 0.7 1
Catastrophes/Disasters (no intent) 2.4 3.6 0.7 2
SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY 3.4
Science 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.7
Medical Research 1.1 1.8 0.4 0.9
Technology 1.2 1 1.1 1.3
CELEBRITY/ENTERTAINMENT 1.8
Entertainment/Celeb 1.4 0.6 0.7 2.3
Celeb. Crime/Scandal 2.2 1.2 0.7 3.5
LIFESTYLE 2.8
Human Interest/Popular Behavior 0.8 0.3 1.5
Pop Culture 0.1 0.3
Health Trends 0.1 0.1
Religion 0.2 0.6
Travel 0.1 0.1
Cooking/Food
Family/Parenting 0.2 0.3 0.1
Civilization/Culture/High Arts 0.2 0.4
Other 2.2 1.3 2.2 2.9
SPORTS 2.5
Olympics 1 0.9 0.4 1.2
Other 2.2 1.6 1.1 3.1
OTHER 4.1
Consumer News 0.8 1.2 0.7 0.6
News Media 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.4
Oddball News 0.2 0.4
Weather (non-disaster) 6.6 0.3 14
Other 3.5 1.5 1.5 5.7
STORY TOPIC BY REGION % % % %
All Local/Metro 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.5
All Regional 12 11.6 2.9 15.5
All National 53.1 44.4 47.3 62.3
All U.S.-Related International 27.3 33.4 37.1 18.9
All Non-U.S. Related International 7.2 10.5 12.4 2.8
SOURCES NAMED W/ RELATIONSHIP IDENTIFIED % % % %
None 37.4 36.5 36 38.6
One 18.9 13.8 20.7 22.5
Two or Three 28.3 32 20.4 27.8
Four or More 15.4 17.7 22.9 11
ANONYMOUS SOURCING % % % %
No “anonymous” or “unnamed” sources 49.2 47 53.1 49.8
“Anonymous” or “unnamed” sources present 50.8 53 46.9 50.2
DATA SOURCES NAMED
WITH RELATIONSHIP EXPLAINED % % % %
None 97.5 96.3 99.6 97.7
One 2.5 3.7 0.4 2.3
PRESENCE OF MULTIPLE VIEWPOINTS
For this variable only, n = 955 % % % %
Mix of Opinions 80.4 71.9 86.7 86.4
Mostly One Opinion 4.5 8 0.8 2.3
All of One Opinion 15.1 20.1 12.5 11.2
JOURNALIST OPINION/SPECULATION
No opinion present 88 83.2 96.7 89
One statement of opinion 10.8 16.8 1.1 9.1
Not applicable (opinion piece) 1.2 2.2 2
DOMINANT STORY FRAME
Conflict 36.4 36.6 28 39
Consensus 1.9 2.2 3.3 1.1
Winners and/or Losers 2.2 3.1 0.7 1.8
Problem-Solving 6.9 9.1 8.7 4.4
Good Yarn 8.9 7 2.9 12.5
Audience action 3.4 2.5 1.5 4.8
Reality Check 0.7 0.9 2.5
Underlying Principles 0.1 0.1
Other/Multiple Frames 0.1 0.1
No Frame Present 39.6 38.4 52 36.4
STORY FRAME
No Story Frame Present 39.8 38.7 52 36.6
Single Dominant Frame 40.5 41.8 18.5 46.7
Dominant Frame/Additional Frame Incorporated 19.7 19.4 29.5 16.7
BY VOLUME
TOTAL N = words
Commercial Commercial
Evening Morning
TOPIC % %
Government 29 25
Defense/Military 1 0
Foreign Affairs 14 8
Elections 11 8
Domestic Affairs 20 15
Business 4 1
Crime 1 5
Science/Technology 4 3
Celebrity 2 4
Lifestyle 4 7
Accidents/Disasters 4 3
Other 6 21
Note: Other includes sports.

 

Cable TV

20-Day Sample

N = 4,551stories

Total

All Daytime

All Newscast

All Talk Show

N=4,551

N=1724

N=1492

N=1335

%

%

%

%
TIMEFRAME
Primary Season (Jan – Feb 29)

27

26

28

28
Early Camp (Mar 1- July 18)

51

48

52

53
Convention (July 19 – Sept 5)

16

20

14

15
Post Conv. (Sept 6 – Sept 26)

6

6

6

5
PLACEMENT

%

%

%

%
1st Segment, 1st story

5

5

6

5
segment 2-9, 1st story

27

22

28

33
News block

2

*

0

7
Middle Story

45

53

45

33
Wrap up

1

*

1

2
Banter

*

1

0

0
Last Story

20

18

20

22
STORY LENGTH

%

%

%

%
Brief, 0-20 seconds

26

25

25

26
Short report, 21-60 seconds

31

36

33

21
Report, 61-120 seconds

12

12

6

19
Long report, 121-180 seconds

12

13

13

11
In-depth report, 180 seconds & greater

19

13

23

23
STORY ORIGINATION

%

%

%

%
Package with editing

14

13

24

4
Staff Live

28

21

16

52
External Outlet

1

*

*

1
Anchor Voice Overs

38

48

40

22
Anchor Tell Stories

17

13

19

18
Banter

1

3

0

*
Live Event Coverage

2

3

0

4
BIG STORY/RECURRING LEAD

%
U.S. War on Terror – Iraq/Afghanistan

13
Presidential Campaign

8
Not a Big Story

79
STORY TOPIC

%

%

%

%
Government

14

11

16

17
Defense Military

6

6

5

8
Campaigns/Elections

12

9

14

16
Domestic Affairs

13

14

10

14
Economics/Business

3

5

3

1
Crime

4

6

3

2
Foreign Affairs

9

9

12

6
Spontaneous Events

3

7

2

*
Science/Technology

1

2

1

*
Celebrity/Entertainment

13

13

10

19
Lifestyle

10

11

5

12
Other

11

8

19

6
SOURCES NAMED W/ RELATIONSHIP IDENTIFIED

%

%

%

%
n = 3293
None

38

56

38

11
One

36

28

26

60
Two or Three

20

14

23

26
Four or More

6

3

13

3
ANONYMOUS SOURCING

%

%

%

%
n = 3294
No “anonymous” or “unnamed” sources

91

90

88

96
“Anonymous” or “unnamed” sources present

9

10

13

5
DATA SOURCES NAMED WITH
RELATIONSHIP EXPLAINED (n = 3270)

%

%

%

%
None

92

98

94

83
One or more

8

2

6

17
PRESENCE OF MULTIPLE VIEWPOINTS
n = 1460

%

%

%

%
Mix of Opinions

27

18

39

26
Mostly One Opinion

21

24

28

13
All of One Opinion

52

59

33

61
JOURNALIST OPINION/SPECULATION

%

%

%

%
No opinion present

71

68

74

73
One statement of opinion

28

31

25

27
Not applicable (opinion piece)

1

1

1

*
DOMINANT STORY FRAME (n = 3294)

%

%

%

%
Conflict

23

20

25

27
Consensus

3

2

2

6
Winners and/or Losers

5

5

6

5
Problem-Solving

4

4

4

5
Good Yarn

10

6

13

13
Audience action

*

0

0

1
Reality Check

2

*

*

6
Underlying Principles

2

1

3

1
Other/Multiple Frames

4

4

3

6
No Frame Present

45

59

42

30
STORY FRAME
No Story Frame Present

46

59

43

31
Single Dominant Frame

42

31

44

56
Dominant Frame/Additional Frame Incorporated

12

10

13

13
BY VOLUME
TOTAL N = 459,165 seconds

Total

All Daytime

All Newscast

All Talk Show
STORY ORIGINATION

%

%

%

%
Package with editing

24

20

42

9
Staff Live

52

36

40

79
External Outlet

*

*

*

1
Anchor Voice Overs

11

16

12

4
Anchor Tell Stories

6

6

6

6
Banter

1

3

0

0
Live Event Coverage

6

17

0

1
STORY TOPIC

%

%

%

%
Government

17

18

18

16
Defense/Military

7

6

6

9
Campaigns/Elections

14

8

18

17
Domestic Affairs

11

12

10

11
Economics/Bus. – non-legislative

1

2

1

1
Crime

3

5

2

2
Foreign Affairs

9

10

13

4
Accidents/Disasters

2

3

2

*
Science/Technology

1

1

1

7
Celebrity/Entertainment

14

15

10

16
Lifestyle

9

11

6

11
Other

12

9

13

6
*NOTE: Due to rounding, totals may not equal 100%