Meet the 2000 Local TV News Project Team

This study was conducted by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a journalists' group in Washington, D.C., affiliated with the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The scholar team that developed the methodology included Lee Ann Brady of Princeton Survey Research Associates; Marion Just, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at Wellesley College; Michael Robinson, Ph.D., formerly of Georgetown University; Ann Crigler, Ph.D., Director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California, and Sherrie Mazingo, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota. Todd Belt of USC measured the ratings trends.

Evan Jenkins edited the articles. Researchers at Princeton Survey Research Associates coded the newscasts and prepared the initial statistical data under the supervision of Brady. Abigail Sturges designed the layout and graphics. Atiba Pertilla and Chris Galdieri of PEJ were the project researchers.

Design Team

The following local news professionals developed the criteria of quality for this study and signed off on major decisions:

John Cardenas
News Director, WBNS, Columbus, Ohio

John Corporon
Board of Governors, Overseas Press Club

Randy Covington
News Director, WIS TV, Columbia, S. C.

Marty Haag
Vice President, Audience Research & Development

Natalie Jacobson
Principal Anchor, WCVB TV, Boston

Alice Main
former Executive Producer, WLS TV, Chicago

Gordon Peterson

Principal Anchor, WUSA TV, Washington, D.C.

Jose Rios
Vice President of News, KTTV, Los Angeles

Dan Rosenheim
News Director, KPIX TV, San Francisco

Jim Snyder
Retired Vice President of News, Post Newsweek Stations

Kathy Williams
News Director, WKYC TV, Cleveland

Gary Wordlaw
President and General Manager, WTVH TV, Syracuse