2004 Annual Report on the State of the News Media
Magazine Topline
| Sample Dates: | |
| February - 17 | |
| April - 7 | |
| June - 16 | |
| October - 6 | |
| BY STORY | |
| TOTAL N = 490 STORIES | |
| TOTAL | |
| TIMEFRAME | % |
| Pre-Iraq Combat Operations (January 1 to February 15) | 0 |
| Lead-Up to Iraq Combat (February 16 to March 16) | 26 |
| Iraq Combat Operations (March 17 to May 1) | 21 |
| Post-Combat Operations (May 2 to October 6) | 53 |
| PLACEMENT | % |
| Cover Story | 15 |
| Inside Story | 85 |
| STORY LENGTH | % |
| 100 Words or Less | 5 |
| 101-500 Words | 46 |
| 501-1000 Words | 31 |
| Above 1000 Words | 19 |
| STORY ORIGINATION | % |
| Staff Reported | 98 |
| Wire - Unaffiliated | 1 |
| Other | 2 |
| BIG STORY/RECURRING LEAD | % |
| All Big Stories | 36 |
| All Iraq-Related Big Stories | 22 |
| All Other Intl. Big Stories | 3 |
| All U.S. Based Big Stories | 11 |
| Not a Big Story | 64 |
| PROTAGONIST | % |
| All Single Protagonist | 27 |
| All Institutional Protagonist | 9 |
| No Protagonist | 64 |
| STORY TOPIC | % |
| ALL GOVERNMENT | 11 |
| Exec. Branch/Admin | 3 |
| Nat'l/State/Local (Legislation or Institution) | 1 |
| Government Agencies | * |
| Law/Courts | 3 |
| Campaigns/Elections | 4 |
| DEFENSE | 1 |
| .ALL DOMESTIC AFFAIRS | 11 |
| Disease/Public Health | 3 |
| Education | * |
| Environment | * |
| Health Care System | 1 |
| Transportation | * |
| Terrorist Acts | * |
| Terrorism – Prevention Efforts | 4 |
| Domestic Affairs Other | 3 |
| BUSINESS / COMMERCE | 9 |
| CRIME | 1 |
| ALL FOREIGN AFFAIRS | 18 |
| Foreign Affairs-Diplomacy | 4 |
| Foreign Affairs-Military Activities | 14 |
| ALL ACCIDENTS / DISASTERS | 2 |
| Accidents (no intent) | * |
| Unusual Weather | 0 |
| Catastrophes/Disasters (no intent) | 2 |
| SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY | 7 |
| Science | 3 |
| Medical Research | 2 |
| Technology | 2 |
| CELEBRITY/ENTERTAINMENT | 6 |
| Entertainment/Celeb | 5 |
| Celeb. Crime/Scandal | 1 |
| LIFESTYLE | 24 |
| Human Interest/Popular Behavior | 1 |
| Pop Culture | 5 |
| Health Trends | 4 |
| Religion | * |
| Travel | 2 |
| Cooking/Food | 3 |
| Family/Parenting | 1 |
| Civilization/Culture/High Arts | 4 |
| Sports | 3 |
| Other | 1 |
| OTHER | 8 |
| Consumer News | 3 |
| News Media | 3 |
| Oddball News | 0 |
| Weather (non-disaster) | 0 |
| Other | 2 |
| STORY TOPIC BY REGION | % |
| All Local/Metro | 1 |
| All Regional | 1 |
| All National | 67 |
| All U.S.-Related International | 27 |
| All Non-U.S. Related International | 4 |
| SOURCING: NAME/TITLE WITH RELATIONSHIP | % |
| None | 25 |
| One to Three | 47 |
| Four or More | 28 |
| SOURCING: UNNAMED/UNTITLED | |
| WITH RELATIONSHIP EXPLAINED | % |
| None | 80 |
| One to Three | 14 |
| Four or More | 6 |
| SOURCING: UNNAMED/NO EXPLANATION | |
| OF RELATIONSHIP | % |
| None | 99 |
| One to Three | 1 |
| Four or More | 0 |
| BY VOLUME | |
| Total N =333,768 Words | |
| STORY ORIGINATION | % |
| Staff Reported | 97 |
| Wire - Unaffiliated | * |
| Other | 2 |
| BIG STORY/RECURRING LEAD | % |
| All Big Stories | 45 |
| All Iraq-Related Big Stories | 32 |
| All Other Intl. Big Stories | 3 |
| All U.S. Based Big Stories | 11 |
| Not a Big Story | 55 |
| STORY TOPIC | % |
| ALL GOVERNMENT | 9 |
| Exec. Branch/Admin | 3 |
| Nat'l/State/Local (Legislation or Institution) | 1 |
| Government Agencies | * |
| Law/Courts | 2 |
| Campaigns/Elections | 3 |
| DEFENSE | 1 |
| ALL DOMESTIC AFFAIRS | 10 |
| Disease/Public Health | 2 |
| Education | * |
| Environment | 1 |
| Health Care System | 1 |
| Transportation | * |
| Terrorist Acts | 1 |
| Terrorism – Prevention Efforts | 3 |
| Domestic Affairs Other | 2 |
| BUSINESS / COMMERCE | 9 |
| CRIME | 1 |
| ALL FOREIGN AFFAIRS | 29 |
| Foreign Affairs-Diplomacy | 5 |
| Foreign Affairs-Military Activities | 24 |
| ALL ACCIDENTS / DISASTERS | 3 |
| Accidents (no intent) | * |
| Unusual Weather | 0 |
| Catastrophes/Disasters (no intent) | 3 |
| SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY | 9 |
| Science | 4 |
| Medical Research | 2 |
| Technology | 3 |
| CELEBRITY/ENTERTAINMENT | 6 |
| Entertainment/Celeb | 4 |
| Celeb. Crime/Scandal | 2 |
| LIFESTYLE | 18 |
| Human Interest/Popular Behavior | 1 |
| Pop Culture | 3 |
| Health Trends | 4 |
| Religion | * |
| Travel | 2 |
| Cooking/Food | 2 |
| Family/Parenting | 1 |
| Civilization/Culture/High Arts | 3 |
| Sports | 1 |
| Other | 1 |
| OTHER | 5 |
| Consumer News | 1 |
| News Media | 3 |
| Oddball News | 0 |
| Weather (non-disaster) | 0 |
| Other | 1 |
| STORY TOPIC BY REGION | % |
| All Local/Metro | 2 |
| All Regional | 1 |
| All National | 55 |
| All U.S.-Related International | 40 |
| All Non-U.S. Related International | 3 |
| *NOTE: Due to rounding, totals may not equal 100% | |