TV journalists have long compared the nightly newscasts to a newspaper front page, and that analogy still holds. In 2004, the two media devoted a similar percentage of their story count (9% for both) and their news hole to the elections (at least up to October when this sample was completed) and the same proportion of their stories to foreign affairs (14% for both).
Percent of All Stories
|
Commerical Nightly News
|
Newspaper Page A1 Only
|
PBS "NewsHour"
|
Commerical Morning
|
|
| Government |
27%
|
35%
|
24%
|
20
|
| Foreign Affairs |
14
|
14
|
20
|
7
|
| Defense/Military |
1
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
| Elections |
9
|
9
|
11
|
7
|
| Domestic |
21
|
14
|
19
|
16
|
| Crime |
2
|
4
|
2
|
4
|
| Business |
8
|
4
|
11
|
2
|
| Celebrity/Enter. |
2
|
1
|
2
|
6
|
| Lifestyle |
5
|
10
|
2
|
5
|
| Science |
3
|
3
|
2
|
3
|
| Accidents/Disaster |
4
|
3
|
2
|
5
|
| Other |
4
|
3
|
4
|
25
|
|
Totals may not equal 100 due to rounding.
|
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