Numbers: Our Data Library

This library contains all data PEJ creates or collects about the news media. The selections below will appear as charts you can customize. Use the menus on the left to filter the data according to your interests.

  • Betting on Biden

    After days of intense speculation by the press, Barack Obama introduced his running mate on Aug. 23. Was that choice a surprise? Or did the media prognosticators and pundits have it figured out?
  • The Bhutto Factor

    The resignation of Pakistani President and U.S. ally Pervez Musharraf is generating headlines this week. But in general, the U.S. media have not devoted significant coverage to Pakistan—with one notable exception.
  • How TV News Played the Edwards Scandal

    When the ex-presidential hopeful admitted to an extramarital affair that had long been alleged by a supermarket tabloid, it became a big story for the rest of the media. But the immediate reactions from cable news and the broadcast networks were quite different.
  • Which Scandals Make Big News?

    Last week, the indictment of seven-term Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was a major story. But he’s not the only politician to have found himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons. Here’s a rundown of the most heavily covered scandals involving public officials in the past two years.
  • Crime Time on Cable News

    Crime was big news last week. The case of a missing two-year-old in Florida was a major story. And the Washington Post published a series on the unsolved seven-year-old murder of former federal intern Chandra Levy. How often does crime make headlines? And which media pay the most attention?
  • Foreign Coverage Shrinking, Not Gone

    Even if coverage of foreign news is decreasing, some events still make headlines. With fewer resources devoted to these stories, which countries are attracting U.S. media attention?
  • Obama Rumors Get More Press

    The controversial New Yorker magazine cover, which depicted Barack Obama as a Muslim and Michelle Obama as a terrorist, brought new attention to rumors about Obama’s patriotism. How much coverage has the media given to rumors that Obama is a Muslim, and or potentially a terrorist?
  • For Don Imus, What a Difference a Year Makes

    Talk host Don Imus made news again for a racially tinged remark about football player Adam “Pacman” Jones. But how did that compare with the media’s response to his infamous insult of the Rutgers women’s basketball team that cost him two jobs last year?
  • The U.S. Media and the Other War

    The news of recent clashes in Afghanistan’s Paktia province is a reminder that a bloody war is still being waged there. But how much media attention is that seven-year-old war generating and how does that compare to the coverage devoted to the conflict in Iraq?
  • Violent Weather is Bigger on Broadcast Networks

    Flooding and destructive storms continued to bombard the Midwest last week and they made major news—especially on the network morning news shows. How does disaster coverage stack up on the other media news platforms?