2004 Annual Report on the State of the News Media
Broadcast Network Topline
| Sample Dates: | |||||
| January - 8, 16 | |||||
| February - 10, 19, 21, 25 | |||||
| March - 12 | |||||
| April - 15, 25 | |||||
| May - 5, 6, 29, 30 | |||||
| June - 16, 18 | |||||
| July - 8, 24 | |||||
| September - 4, 26 | |||||
| October - 6 | |||||
| BY STORY | |||||
| TOTAL N = 1,923 STORIES | |||||
| Total | All Network Evening | Commercial Network Evening | PBS Evening | Network Morning Shows | |
| N=1,923 | N=1,110 | N=783 | N=327 | N=813 | |
| DATE | % | % | % | % | % |
| Pre-Iraq Combat Operations (January 1 to February 15) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 15 |
| Lead-Up to Iraq Combat (February 16 to March 16) | 20 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 20 |
| Iraq Combat Operations (March 17 to May 1) | 10 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 |
| Post-Combat Operations (May 2 to October 6) | 55 | 55 | 55 | 56 | 55 |
| HOUR | % | % | % | % | % |
| Morning Shows - 7 AM | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Evening Shows - 6 or 7 PM | 58 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 0 |
| PLACEMENT | % | % | % | % | % |
| First Story | 25 | 23 | 30 | 6 | 29 |
| News Block | 27 | 18 | 0 | 62 | 39 |
| Middle Story | 28 | 36 | 40 | 25 | 17 |
| Wrap Story | 6 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 4 |
| Last Story | 14 | 15 | 19 | 6 | 11 |
| STORY LENGTH | % | % | % | % | % |
| Up to 40 Seconds | 38 | 44 | 42 | 48 | 29 |
| 41 seconds to 1.5 Minutes | 8 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 9 |
| 91 Seconds to 3 Minutes | 34 | 36 | 48 | 9 | 30 |
| Longer Than 3 Minutes | 20 | 12 | 4 | 33 | 31 |
| STORY ORIGINATION | % | % | % | % | % |
| Staff Package w/ Editing | 38 | 42 | 52 | 17 | 32 |
| Staff External Interview (No Editing) | 15 | 7 | 1 | 22 | 26 |
| Staff In-House Interview | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Staff Live/Live-to-Tape/Not Tell Story | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| External | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Anchor Voice Over (w/ Video) | 21 | 20 | 23 | 13 | 22 |
| Tell Story/No Source (No Moving Video) | 20 | 29 | 22 | 45 | 9 |
| Anchor/Correspondent Banter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Live Events | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BIG STORY/RECURRING LEAD | % | % | % | % | % |
| All Big Stories | 49 | 51 | 51 | 53 | 46 |
| All Iraq-Related Big Stories | 24 | 29 | 27 | 33 | 18 |
| All Other Intl. Big Stories | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 |
| All U.S. Based Big Stories | 18 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 23 |
| Not A Big Story | 51 | 49 | 49 | 47 | 54 |
| PROTAGONIST | % | % | % | % | % |
| All Individual Protagonist | 33 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 48 |
| President Bush (Singled Out As an Individual) | * | * | * | 0 | * |
| Other Individual Protagonist | 33 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 48 |
| No Individual Protagonist | 67 | 78 | 78 | 79 | 52 |
| STORY TOPIC | % | % | % | % | % |
| ALL GOVERNMENT | 14 | 18 | 16 | 24 | 8 |
| Exec. Branch/Admin | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 4 |
| Nat'l/State/Local (Legislation or Institution) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | * |
| Government Agencies | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Law/Courts | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | * |
| Campaigns/Elections | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| DEFENSE | 3 | 2 | 3 | * | 4 |
| ALL DOMESTIC AFFAIRS | 13 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 10 |
| Disease/Public Health | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Education | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Environment | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | * |
| Health Care System | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Transportation | 1 | 1 | 1 | * | 1 |
| Terrorist Acts | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | * |
| Terrorism – Prevention Efforts | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Domestic Affairs Other | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| BUSINESS/COMMERCE | 8 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 2 |
| CRIME | 10 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 18 |
| ALL FOREIGN AFFAIRS | 24 | 29 | 25 | 39 | 17 |
| Foreign Affairs-Diplomacy | 11 | 13 | 10 | 20 | 9 |
| Foreign Affairs-Military Activities | 12 | 15 | 14 | 19 | 8 |
| ALL ACCIDENTS/DISASTERS | 9 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 11 |
| Accidents (no intent) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Unusual Weather | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Catastrophes/Disasters (no intent) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Science | 1 | 1 | * | 3 | * |
| Medical Research | 1 | 1 | 1 | * | 1 |
| Technology | * | * | * | 0 | * |
| CELEBRITY/ENTERTAINMENT | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Entertainment/Celeb | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| Celeb. Crime/Scandal | 1 | * | * | 0 | 3 |
| LIFESTYLE | 9 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 14 |
| Human Interest/Popular Behavior | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Pop Culture | * | * | * | 0 | 1 |
| Health Trends | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Religion | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Travel | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Cooking/Food | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | * |
| Family/Parenting | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Civilization/Culture/High Arts | 1 | 1 | * | 2 | * |
| Sports | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Other | * | * | * | 0 | 0 |
| OTHER | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Consumer News | 1 | * | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| News Media | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Oddball News | 1 | * | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Weather (non-disaster) | * | * | * | 0 | * |
| Other | * | * | 0 | * | * |
| STORY TOPIC BY REGION | % | % | % | % | % |
| All Local/Metro | * | * | * | 0 | 0 |
| All Regional | 29 | 18 | 21 | 10 | 44 |
| All National | 32 | 35 | 34 | 37 | 28 |
| All U.S.-Related International | 21 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 15 |
| All Non-U.S. Related International | 18 | 22 | 19 | 28 | 12 |
| SOURCING: NAME/TITLE WITH RELATIONSHIP | % | % | % | % | % |
| None | 28 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 23 |
| Any | 72 | 69 | 68 | 67 | 77 |
| Total | 100 | 101 | 100 | 99 | 100 |
| Zero to One | 55 | 54 | 52 | 58 | 56 |
| Two or More | 45 | 47 | 48 | 41 | 44 |
| Total | 100 | 101 | 100 | 99 | 100 |
| Zero to Three | 87 | 84 | 82 | 86 | 92 |
| Four or More | 13 | 17 | 18 | 13 | 8 |
| Total | 100 | 101 | 100 | 99 | 100 |
| SOURCING: UNNAMED/UNTITLED WITH RELATIONSHIP EXPLAINED | % | % | % | % | % |
| None | 74 | 75 | 70 | 85 | 73 |
| Any | 26 | 26 | 29 | 15 | 27 |
| Total | 100 | 101 | 99 | 100 | 100 |
| Zero to One | 85 | 84 | 80 | 90 | 87 |
| Two or More | 15 | 17 | 19 | 10 | 13 |
| Total | 100 | 101 | 99 | 100 | 100 |
| SOURCING: UNNAMED/NO EXPLANATION OF RELATIONSHIP | % | % | % | % | % |
| None | 91 | 90 | 86 | 99 | 93 |
| Any | 9 | 10 | 14 | 1 | 6 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99 |
| Zero to One | 95 | 93 | 90 | 100 | 97 |
| Two or More | 5 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 99 |
| BY VOLUME | |||||
| TOTAL N =3,965 minutes | |||||
| Total | All Network Evening | Commercial Network Evening | PBS Evening | Network Morning Shows | |
| N=3,965 minutes | N=2,151 minutes | N=1,108 minutes | N=1,043 minutes | N=1,814 minutes | |
| STORY ORIGINATION | % | % | % | % | % |
| Staff Package w/ Editing | 48 | 59 | 84 | 31 | 36 |
| Staff External Interview (No Editing) | 37 | 28 | 1 | 56 | 48 |
| Staff In-House Interview | 3 | * | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Staff Live/Live-to-Tape/Not Tell Story | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| External | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Anchor Voice Over (w/ Video) | 4 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| Tell Story/No Source (No Moving Video) | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| Anchor/Correspondent Banter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Live Events | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BIG STORY/RECURRING LEAD | % | % | % | % | % |
| All Big Stories | 49 | 56 | 56 | 55 | 42 |
| All Iraq-Related Big Stories | 25 | 32 | 31 | 33 | 16 |
| All Other Intl. Big Stories | 5 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 4 |
| All U.S. Based Big Stories | 20 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 23 |
| Not a Big Story | 51 | 44 | 44 | 45 | 58 |
| STORY TOPIC | % | % | % | % | % |
| ALL GOVERNMENT | 17 | 25 | 17 | 33 | 8 |
| Exec. Branch/Admin | 6 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 3 |
| Nat'l/State/Local (Legislation or Institution) | 2 | 5 | 2 | 7 | * |
| Government Agencies | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Law/Courts | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Campaigns/Elections | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4 |
| DEFENSE/MILITARY | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| ALL DOMESTIC AFFAIRS | 14 | 17 | 18 | 13 | 11 |
| Disease/Public Health | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Education | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Environment | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Health Care System | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Transportation | 1 | 1 | 1 | * | 1 |
| Terrorist Acts | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Terrorism – Prevention Efforts | 2 | 2 | 3 | * | 2 |
| Domestic Affairs Other | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| BUSINESS/COMMERCE | 4 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 1 |
| CRIME | 10 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 19 |
| ALL FOREIGN AFFAIRS | 22 | 29 | 26 | 32 | 13 |
| Foreign Affairs-Diplomacy | 11 | 13 | 11 | 16 | 8 |
| Foreign Affairs-Military Activities | 11 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 5 |
| ALL ACCIDENTS/DISASTERS | 7 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 9 |
| Accidents (no intent) | 2 | 1 | 2 | * | 3 |
| Unusual Weather | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Catastrophes/Disasters (no intent) | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Science | 1 | 2 | * | 3 | * |
| Medical Research | 1 | 1 | 1 | * | 1 |
| Technology | * | * | * | 0 | * |
| CELEBRITY/ENTERTAINMENT | 7 | 1 | 2 | * | 14 |
| Entertainment/Celeb | 5 | 1 | 1 | * | 11 |
| Celeb. Crime/Scandal | 2 | * | * | 0 | 3 |
| LIFESTYLE | 10 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 15 |
| Human Interest/Popular Behavior | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Pop Culture | * | * | * | 0 | 1 |
| Health Trends | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Religion | * | * | 1 | * | 1 |
| Travel | 2 | 1 | * | 1 | 4 |
| Cooking/Food | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | * |
| Family/Parenting | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Civilization/Culture/High Arts | 2 | 2 | * | 5 | 1 |
| Sports | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Other | * | * | * | 0 | 0 |
| OTHER | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Consumer News | * | * | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| News Media | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Oddball News | 1 | * | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Weather (non-disaster) | * | * | * | 0 | * |
| Other | * | * | 0 | 1 | * |
| STORY TOPIC BY REGION | % | % | % | % | % |
| All Local/Metro | * | * | * | 0 | 0 |
| All Regional | 30 | 17 | 22 | 12 | 46 |
| All National | 34 | 36 | 33 | 40 | 32 |
| All U.S.-Related International | 22 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 13 |
| All Non-U.S. Related International | 14 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 9 |
| * NOTE: Due to rounding, totals may not equal 100. | |||||