August 20, 2008
"The Verdict at MSNBC: Maddow Gets Own Show"
Howard Kurtz, Washington Post, August 20, 2008

"Rachel Maddow to Replace Dan Abrams on MSNBC"
Bill Carter, The New York Times, August 19, 2008
"Press Rumors Run Wild on Obama Veep Pick -- But in 2004 An Airline Mechanic Got the Scoop"
Greg Mitchell, Editor and Publisher, August 19, 2008
"Fox News Plans an ‘Experience’ for DNC, RNC"
Alex Weprin, Broadcasting and Cable, August 19, 2008
"Can NBC's Ratings Jump the Hurdle of Week 2?"
John Rash, Advertising Age, August 19, 2008
"FCC to warn TV viewers: 'This is only a test'"
Wailin Wong, Chicago Tribune, August 19, 2008
"Georgia unplugs Russian channel"
Nick Holsworth, Variety, August 19, 2008
"Murdoch Earned $27.1 Million As Overall Compensation Fell"
Shira Ovide, The Wall Street Journal, August 20, 2008
"ABC's Ross On The Purpose And The Future Of Investigative Journalism"
Alissa Krinsky, TV Newser, August 19, 2008
 

Today's Lead

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The How vs. Where of News Consumption

A new Pew Research Center survey finds people using various traditional media at historically low levels. But the more telling findings here are not where people get news but how. In a commentary, PEJ Director Tom Rosenstiel sees the outlines of a new "On Demand" Media Culture.

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How TV News Played the Edwards Scandal

When the ex-presidential hopeful admitted to an extramarital affair that had long been alleged by a supermarket tabloid, it became a big story for the rest of the media. But the immediate reactions from cable news and the broadcast networks were quite different.

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Tracking the Economic Slowdown

The troubled U.S. economy has been a complex story for journalists to report and tell. How did the media cover the slump? Was that coverage timely? And to what it extent did it influence public attitudes about the state of the economy? A new PEJ study examines those questions.

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War in Georgia is Bigger News than the Campaign: August 11 - 17, 2008

Last week, for the first time this year, an event other than the race for president was the No. 1 story. The crisis with Russia was the top story and campaign theme in a week when Barack Obama got more coverage, but John McCain may have gotten the better of it.

Also Worth Noting
2007 News Coverage Index Data Available
PEJ's News Coverage Index captures and analyzes some four dozen news outlets in real time to determine what stories the national news media is covering. The 2007 raw data is now available online; it totals 70,737 stories, and is offered in SPSS through the use of zip files along with the coding scheme.
PEJ’s State of the News Media 2008
The fifth annual State of the News Media 2008 includes a Survey of Journalists, a Year in the News, a look at the Future of Advertising, an analysis of Citizen Media sites, and more. It also analyzes the major trends in the eight main sectors of media.
A New Updated Edition of the Elements of Journalism
The latest edition of Elements is completely updated and includes a new 10th principle--the rights and responsibilities of citizens--flowing from new power conveyed by technology to citizens as consumers and editors of their own news and information.