Indexes: Our Weekly Content Analysis
This section contains the complete archive of all PEJ Indexes. They are published below in chronological order, but our archive is also searchable. Use the key word search on the left to find reports about specific news events.
| | Source: PEJ Research; Date Posted: April 23, 2007 | | The Attorney General faced a grilling from Congress, the Supreme Court weighed in on abortion rights, hundreds were slaughtered in a single day in Iraq, and a vicious storm wreaked havoc on the East Coast. But each of those events last week was completely overshadowed by the media’s non-stop coverage of the horrific events that unfolded on the campus of Virginia Tech. |
| | Source: PEJ Research; Date Posted: April 19, 2007 | | 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. |
| | Source: PEJ Research; Date Posted: April 16, 2007 | | In a week that marked the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein and the end of the Duke lacrosse scandal, the remarks of a cable and radio talk show host dominated the news media. The fall of Don Imus had just the mix of ingredients that tend to seize the media imagination. |
| | Source: PEJ Research; Date Posted: April 12, 2007 | | The Iranian hostage situation and the argument over Iraq policy were hot topics on the cable and radio talk shows last week. But in some ways, the U.S. Speaker of the House’s decision to talk to the President of Syria shed even more light on how the talk universe really works. |
| | Source: PEJ Research; Date Posted: April 9, 2007 | | The now-resolved hostage crisis with Iran attracted the most media coverage last week while the investigation into the fired U.S. attorneys went on temporary hiatus. But even with the voting 19 months away, the 2008 race for the White House continues to fascinate the press, the second story only behind the debate over the war in Iraq. |
| | Source: PEJ Research; Date Posted: April 5, 2007 | | There was a disagreement between the nation’s radio and cable talk hosts over the juiciest talk topic last week. The fired U.S. attorneys topped the cable menu while the 2008 Presidential race was the leading topic on radio. Meanwhile, hosts in both media sectors rattled their sabers at Iran. |
| | Source: PEJ Research; Date Posted: April 2, 2007 | | U.S. tensions with Teheran have been bubbling for some time now, but it took a conflict with another country to put Iran atop the media map. In the same week, the news didn’t get any better for Attorney Gonzales and the Iraq debate was marked by a crucial Senate vote. |
| | Source: PEJ Research; Date Posted: March 29, 2007 | 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.
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| | Source: PEJ Research; Date Posted: March 26, 2007 | It took some time to develop, but the growing controversy over the firing of a group of U.S. Attorneys is dominating the media’s attention these days and turning the episode into one of the biggest stories of the year. The big question that remains is how much the general public cares. |
| | Source: PEJ Research; Date Posted: March 22, 2007 | | Two Washington-centric topics that left plenty of room for disagreement and debate dominated the cable and radio talk shows last week. But a PEJ examination of the talk landscape reveals that in some cases, the hosts’ own values and preferences determine what news is fit to argue about. |
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