Newspapers

Interestingly, tabloid media outlets did a better job of using named sources than mainstream outlets did in a March 1998 sample of coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky saga.

Traditional topics (Government, Military, Domestic Affairs and Foreign Affairs) lost space to Feature topics (Entertainment, Lifestyle, Celebrity Crime) in the news media between 1977 and 1997.

Straight news declined sharply as the emphasis of newspaper front page stories between 1977 and 1997.

Traditional topics (Government, Military, Domestic Affairs and Foreign Affairs) lost space to Feature topics (Entertainment, Lifestyle, Celebrity Crime) in the news media between 1977 and 1997.

Newspaper front pages grew less focused on Government and Foreign Affairs between 1977 and 1997, while they devoted more space to Domestic Affairs and Crime.

Only 1% of all the stories PEJ examined during the Clinton-Lewinsky saga used two or more named sources. Stories featured only one anonymous source 8% of the time.

Newspapers and Nightline did the best job of using named sources in their reportage curing the Clinton-Lewinsky saga. Nightly talk shows cited named sources the least.

During the Lewinsky saga “named sources” were not widely used in attribution on key points. “Named sources” made up more than 50% of attribution only on the topic of President Clinton’s denials.