Newspapers
#16 - Number of top 20 newspapers (by market penetration) that lost overall audience in 2010 Newspaper companies frequently claim that between their print subscribers and online audience, they are attracting more readers than ever before. But that may not have been the case last year. Indeed, new figures from Scarborough Research obtained by the Poynter Institute’s Rick Edmonds show audience reach across the two platforms dropping in 2010 for many papers that boast the most loyal readership in the country.
Of the top 20 U.S. newspapers in terms of market penetration—the percentage of adults in a metro region reading the paper in print or online or both—16 dailies actually saw a decline in penetration from 2009 to 2010. Only three saw their overall reach increase.[1] Many of the market penetration declines were modest, but among those suffering the biggest losses in 2010 were the Des Moines Register (-11.3%), the Louisville Courier-Journal (-9.4%) and the Austin American-Statesman (-8.2%).
The three newspapers that grew their percentage of market reach for the year were Gannett’s Wisconsin papers (68% to 69%), the New Orleans Times-Picayune (66% to 68%) and Tulsa World (51% to 53%). [2] When looking at the top newspapers by market penetration, the No. 1 publication is the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, which was read by 72% of adults in the Rochester metro region. Second was a combination of Gannett’s newspapers in Wisconsin at 69% followed by the New Orleans times-Picayune at 68%. The rest of the chart can be seen here. This list of market penetration leaders differs significantly from the 20 newspapers with the largest combined print and online readership. Only one newspaper made both lists: The Washington Post, with 60% market penetration and a combined readership of 2,836,127. As Edmonds points out, the highest penetration papers tend to be in compact metro areas rather than sprawling ones that often have competing suburban dailies. Still, a vast majority of papers on both lists lost combined readers between 2009 and 2010 –more bad news for an industry already reeling from continuing revenue declines last year. Emily Guskin of PEJ Footnotes: 1.The Scarborough surveys for each year are conducted on a rotating basis so the figures are from different times over the course of the year. 2. Gannett Wisconsin Papers include Appleton Post-Crescent, Fond du Lac Reporter, Green Bay Press-Gazette, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter, Oshkosh Northwester and their websites.
1.9% - Percentage of newshole devoted to health care reform since it became law in March 2010 Last week, there was significant news on the health care front. President Obama said he was willing to let states opt out of controversial provisions of the new health care law as long as they still achieve the desired results. This change in the president’s position on a polarizing domestic issue might have seemed newsworthy, but in fact attracted modest media attention last week. According to PEJ's News Coverage Index, from February 28-March 6, coverage of the health care issue filled just 2.1% of the newshole, overwhelmed by attention to the Mideast (32%) and the economy (19.9%). It even generated less coverage than the travails of troubled sitcom star Charlie Sheen (2.2%). When the health care bill finally was signed into law on March 23, 2010—after bitter and bruising partisan battles that extended from the summer of 2009 through the winter of 2010—many commentators predicted it would continue to be a hot domestic issue, maybe even the decisive issue in the 2010 midterm elections. But the media coverage has not followed suit. In the 11 months from April 1, 2010 through March 6, 2011, the health care debate has accounted for only 1.9% of the overall newshole. By way of comparison, in that same period, the economy has generated seven times the coverage, (13.3%) and the Gulf oil spill accounted for four times as much (7.6%). And the wave of protests across the Mideast, which did kick into high gear until January 2011, have attracted about twice as much attention (4.2%). Not only has health care coverage been low in this period, it has been consistently low—with virtually no significant spikes in media attention. In seven of the 11 months between April 1, 2010 and March 6, 2011, health care accounted for less than 2% of the overall coverage. The only month when coverage exceeded 4% of the newshole was January 2011 (4.4%). That was bolstered by a significant week of coverage (January 17-23, 2011) when the House vote to repeal health care reform filled 7.7% of the newshole. The U.S. Senate, controlled by Democrats, defeated a repeal effort in February—backed by a veto threat from Obama. But however far-reaching the implications of the new law, and despite continued challenges to its implementation, the fact remains that the health care debate has largely been muted in the press for almost a year. *January 1 - March 6, 2011
No. 1 - Rank of the Wisconsin union fight among biggest state policy stories The large protests in Wisconsin last week—organized in response to Republican Governor Scott Walker’s proposal to cut union benefits and bargaining power—generated major media attention. With potential implications for unions and electoral politics around the country, the protest story accounted for 16.3% of the overall newshole the week of February 14-20, 2010, according to PEJ News Coverage Index. That level of coverage makes it the biggest state policy story in a single week since PEJ began regularly tracking media coverage in January 2007. The only other story focusing on state policy and legislation that generated the same level of coverage occurred from April 26-May 2, 2010. That week, reaction to and debate over the tough immigration law just passed in Arizona accounted for 15.8% of the newshole. That law is still on hold as a federal circuit court decides its legality. Other state battles over public policy that have generated national media attention include budget problems and same-sex marriage. And California, the nation’s most populous state, has been ground zero for that coverage. In February 2009, California faced major budget shortfalls. After much infighting between Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California legislature, the state laid off 20,000 workers, raised taxes, and significantly cut the budget. Attention to that situation accounted for 5.3% of the newshole the week of February 16-22, 2009. California’s same-sex marriage debate has also made headlines. Two weeks that attracted significant coverage were May 25-31, 2009 (4.7% of the newshole) when the California Supreme Court upheld a prohibition against gay marriage, and August 2-8, 2010 (5.1%) when a federal judge in California ruled that ban unconstitutional. That ruling is still on hold pending appeal.
Events and controversies related to Islam dominated U.S. press coverage of religion in 2010, bumping the Catholic Church from the top spot, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
45%—Percentage of Mideast unrest stories reported from that region in the past two weeks The protests throughout the Middle East, and most notably Egypt, have registered as the No. 1 news story over the past two weeks, according to PEJ’s News Coverage Index. They accounted for 20% of the newshole from January 24-30 and then a whopping 56% from January 31-February 6, making it the biggest international story in a single week since PEJ began tracking this in January 2007. One reason for the extraordinary level of coverage thus far has been journalists’ access to the scenes of protests and violence in Egypt that they have transmitted to U.S. news audiences. That has been borne out by this finding from the News Coverage Index: In the past two weeks—from January 24-February 6—almost half (45%) of all the stories about the unrest studied by PEJ have been reported directly from Egypt and neighboring countries. Most of the other Mideast reporting in the last two weeks came from the major U.S. news hubs—28% from New York and 22% from Washington DC. A breakdown of coverage by media sector reveals some differences in the amount of on-scene reporting. More than three-quarters (76%) of the online Mideast stories studied by PEJ originated from the area, as did 70% of the front-page newspaper stories. Much of this reporting came from the major newspapers, while smaller papers and websites without a robust reporting team relied heavily on wire services. The three major networks sent some of their biggest names to the region—CBS anchor Katie Couric, NBC anchor Brian Williams and ABC “This Week” host Christiane Amanpour—and 58% of all the Middle East unrest stories on network news in the past two weeks were reported from the area. Cable news, which devotes considerable time to in-studio talk shows, had a lower percentage of stories reported from the region, at 31%. But there was a significant variation between the channels. While 45% of the CNN stories studied by PEJ originated from the Mideast, that number was 26% for MSNBC and 16% for Fox. Tricia Sartor of PEJ
0.6% - Amount of coverage devoted to the 2012 campaign in January 2011 With Election Day nearly two years away, thus far there has been little media attention paid to the 2012 presidential race. Indeed with no major Republican candidate formally announcing a run, coverage of the campaign accounted for less than 1% (0.6%) of the overall newshole in January 2011. And while it may not seem unusual to have negligible coverage of an election still 21 months away, at this point four years earlier, the 2008 presidential campaign was already a major newsmaker. By January 2007, more than a dozen candidates had already announced a bid for president and the campaign accounted for 5.1% of the newshole during the first four weeks of 2007—trailing only the Iraq war and the installation of the new Democratic-led Congress. Indeed, this past week (January 24-30, 2011) the 2012 campaign filled just 0.9% of the newshole. But from January 21-26, 2007, the presidential campaign was the No. 1 story, filling 13.4% of the newshole that week, according to PEJ’s News Coverage Index. What made presidential politics so much more newsworthy at this point four years ago? The battle for an open presidential seat clearly started earlier, with a particular focus on two candidates. In January 2007, Barack Obama created a presidential exploratory committee and Hillary Clinton entered the race—creating significant media buzz and raising the prospect that the nation could elect its first female or African-American chief executive. In February 2007, coverage of the campaign jumped even further to 8%, trailing only the Iraq war in attention. Four years later, with Obama clearly planning to run for re-election and potential Republican candidates biding their time, coverage has been minimal. But one possible contender seems to have generated more media attention than any of her likely rivals. According to PEJ data, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been a dominant newsmaker in 12.5% of all the 2012 campaign stories since the November 2 midterms. (To be a dominant newsmaker, someone must be featured in at least 50% of a story.) Among possible rivals, her next closest pursuers in the competition for headlines were Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who were well back—each appearing as a dominant newsmaker in 3.5% of the campaign stories since the midterm elections. Tricia Sartor of PEJ
1st - Tainted imports is the No. 1 story subject involving China in the last few years On January 18, President Hu Jintao of China arrived in the U.S. for a four-day visit—the highlight being a lavish black-tie dinner at the White House. It was Obama’s third state dinner, but because of China’s role as an economic power and critical role in foreign affairs, political analysts have called it the most important one of his presidency thus far. When China has made news, what is it Americans are learning about? A PEJ examination of news coverage of China since 1997 reveals two patterns. In general, larger economic issues involving trade and economic policy with China tend to be overshadowed by different issues—including tainted imports and disasters. And in any given week, ongoing economic issues are even less visible in the news. Over the last four years, the biggest story subject involving China has focused on problems with imported products, including tainted pet food and lead paint in children’s toys. According to PEJ’s News Coverage Index, almost a quarter (21%) of the coverage has focused these issues. The second biggest subject (14%) was the May 2008 earthquake that rocked the Chinese province of Sichuan—killing as many as 70,000 and injuring nearly 400,000. Relations with Tibet (6%) are also prominent. The subject of trade and business ranks third (12%) among all the coverage involving China since January 1997, when PEJ began its content analysis. In any given week, economic policy is even less prominent. The biggest one week China story was the Sichuan earthquake which accounted for 13% of the newshole the week of May 12-18, 2008. The following week (May 19-25), attention remained relatively high at 5%, making it the third-biggest China story in any week since January 2007. Two of the other top five weekly stories focused on violence and political unrest in China. In May 2008, Tibetans opposed to Chinese rule of their region staged demonstrations. But the rallies quickly turned hostile as the Chinese government violently cracked down on demonstrators. The incident accounted for 5% of the news coverage studied the week of March 17-23, 2008 making it the fourth-most covered China story. The July 2009 Ethnic clashes in western China, between the Han Chinese majority and the Muslim Uighur minority, is the No. 5 China story. Attention to the violence—which killed more than 180 people—accounted for at 4% of the newshole the week of July 6-12, 2009. Only one story that involved relations between U.S. and China was among the top weekly stories of the last four years, and it wasn’t about diplomacy or public policy. It came as the 2008 Beijing Olympics neared. Protestors in Paris and San Francisco made their opposition to the rule of Tibet and human rights violations known as the Olympic torch traveled through those cities the week of April 7-13, 2008. That week, attention to the protests filled 7% of the media newshole, which made it the second-biggest story in any week. The Year in News 2010What topics generated the most media attention in 2010? Which political candidates made the most headlines? What stories were the public most interested in? To answer these questions and more, PEJ examined a year’s worth of mainstream media coverage, the public’s news priorities, and commentary on blogs and social media sites focusing on news. Here are three ways to learn about the news agenda in 2010: a narrative report, a quiz and an interactive tool.
3:2 - The ratio of stories featuring Sarah Palin versus Hillary Clinton in 2010 A woman was nominated to the Supreme Court. Another is Secretary of State. A third is the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Another is the most famous member of the Tea Party movement. In 2010, women played a significant role in the news. Who were the top female newsmakers of the year? At the head of the list is former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Though she no longer holds any official political office, Palin made more news than all her rivals by a long distance, according to data from the News Coverage Index produced by Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. Palin was the lead newsmaker in a third more stories than her next closest competitor, Supreme Court nominee and eventual justice Elena Kagan. And she was featured in 55% more stories than the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. (To be considered a lead newsmaker, someone must be featured in at least 50% of a story.) Palin’s fame was fueled by various tea party speeches she delivered—including one at the February Tea Party Convention in which she had notes written on her hand—as well as campaigning with her former running mate, John McCain, her endorsement of various candidates in the midterm elections, speculation about her presidential aspirations, her new reality show and book tour, and her daughter’s stint on “Dancing With The Stars.” In all, PEJ’s research found 329 stories that revolved primarily around Palin. By contrast, there were 245 stories focused on Justice Kagan, a number that is usually enlarged when there is a nomination process that examines someone’s background and personality. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the focus of 212 stories, many of these relating to negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians as well as tense relationships with Iran and North Korea. The No. 4 woman newsmaker was a gaffe-prone GOP congressional candidate from Delaware, Christine O’Donnell. Her views on science, morality and possible involvement with witchcraft, made her a newsmaker in 169 stories this year, ahead of the Speaker of the House and a variety of women candidates who actually won. Three other GOP hopefuls made the top-ten list, as well, two of them who came out on the losing ends of their campaigns. Meg Whitman lost her gubernatorial bid to Jerry Brown in California (92 stories). Sharon Angle lost a close senate race to Harry Reid in Nevada (90 stories). And Lisa Murkowski won a write-in campaign to challengers Joe Miller (R) and Scott McAdams (D). She was a newsmaker in 80 stories. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi was the No. 5 newsmaker in 2010 with 135 stories. Attention focused on her involvement with health care debate as well as the 2010 elections and her decision to run for minority leader of the House following the democratic losses in the election. First Lady Michelle Obama (No. 6 with 112 stories) made the list for her campaign to end childhood obesity. And Shirley Sherrod, a mid-level bureaucrat in the Department of Agriculture, jumped to the media spotlight following her firing after the Obama Administration precipitously reacted to an edited video clip that misrepresented her views on race. Tricia Sartor of PEJ
8-Rank of the Charles Rangel saga among biggest political scandal stories since 2007 The corruption scandal surrounding Representative Charlie Rangel accounted for 5% of the newshole the week of November 15-21, when the 20-term New York Democrat was found guilty on 11 ethics violations by a House subcommittee. That makes the Rangel case the eighth-biggest weekly scandal story since PEJ began the New Coverage Index in January 2007. In addition, the Rangel story filled 2% of the newshole the week of November 29-December 5, when his Congressional colleagues censured him. But that level of coverage pales in comparison to some of the top political scandals in recent years. Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich became a household name when he was arrested on corruption charges, including allegations that he was trying to sell Barack Obama’s vacant senate seat. The week of the arrest, December 8-14, 2008 the Blagojevich saga filled 28% of the media newshole. Attention to the scandal remained relatively high throughout early 2009 as Blagojevich was removed from office and his choice to replace Obama, Roland Burris, was later accused of fundraising for him. Indeed, in the period between December 8, 2008, and January 11, 2009, the Blagojevich scandal was the nation’s No. 1 story, according to coverage studied by PEJ. (When a jury eventually found Blagojevich guilty on one count, but deadlocked on 23 others, that story accounted for 6% of the newshole the week of August 16-22, 2010.) The No. 2 scandal story involved another deposed Democratic governor. On March 10, 2008, the New York Times reported that former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer had used campaign funds to pay for high-priced prostitutes and stays at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. Spitzer resigned two days later. That week (March 10-16, 2008), coverage of the scandal filled 23% of the overall newshole. Spitzer is now the co-host of a new CNN prime-time talk show. Next, at 18%, is former Idaho Republican Senator, Larry Craig who was arrested for lewd behavior in an airport restroom on July 11, 2007. The story first broke, however, the week of August 26-31, 2007. Craig pled guilty to lesser charges of disorderly conduct and finished his full term. Also at 18%, for the week of March 18-23, 2007, was the political scandal involving former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and charges that politics played a role in the firing of seven U.S. attorneys That week, Gonzales battled for his job while George Bush voiced support for him and Congress issued subpoenas in connection with the case. The No. 5 scandal story was the conviction of Scooter Libby, advisor to Vice President Cheney, for his involvement with the leaking of the name of CIA agent Valarie Plame. The week that Libby was convicted, March 4-9, 2007, the story filled 13% of the newshole. Outgoing South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford was the leading figure in the sixth-biggest story. The week of June 22-28, 2009, when Sanford admitted to an affair with his “soul mate” after he had been missing for six days, the story reached 11% of the newshole. And former Vice President Cheney makes the list for the Washington Post series, on his secretive methods, his power in the Bush Administration and his possible involvement in the use of harsh interrogation methods on “enemy combatants.” Analysis of the Vice President filled 5% of the newshole the week of June 24-29, 2007. Tricia Sartor of PEJ |
 Home | Numbers | Analysis | News Index | Daily Briefing | State of the News Media | Journalism Resources | About PEJ | Contact Us
 Powered by: Phase2 Technology
|
