1) The analysis found that news media is dominated by hard news rather than soft news, contradicting the hypothesis. Only one news source, Good Morning America, had more soft than hard news.
2) Newspapers had the highest ratio of hard to soft news, supporting the second hypothesis. Newspapers' ratio was 4.86:1 hard to soft news.
3) The ratio for liberal news sources was higher than conservative sources, supporting part of the third hypothesis. However, conservative news was found to be dominated by hard rather than soft news, contradicting another part of the hypothesis.
Do Liberal Stereotypes of the National News Media Hold Up to Scrutiny
1. Matthew Pipes
Political Science 370
Professor Sam Russo
January 27th
, 2015
Do Liberal Stereotypes of the National News Media Hold Up to Scrutiny?
American liberals feel a certain amount of superiority over other political groups in the
quality of news they consume (Cabaretic). They generally have the idea that the entire news
media, is dominated by soft news stories of crime, celebrity news, and kittens stuck in trees
(Shapiro; Fung), while their preferred sources focus on more important hard news. In the most
recent season of “Real Time with Bill Maher", Bill Maher said flatly that,”…the NBC Nightly
News sucks…” and so did all the other primetime network news broadcasts. He described them
as having wasted precious airtime with stories about car chases, bears in swimming pools, store
clerks fighting back against robbers, returning soldiers surprising their kids at the big game,
Powerball jackpots, Spanish tomato fights, and blind veterans that still drive the school bus. He
continues that television news has committed journalistic malpractice because the segments aired
are not informative, and he provides the example when they show fat people on the screen who’s
faces we cannot see, only to quote a doctor who informs the audience of the little known fact that
being fat can cause obesity. He castigates the nightly news for only donating a small fraction of
their airtime to hard news, two to three minutes is how he puts it (Maher).
American liberals and academics alike, do not look down upon all news media for not
covering significant enough news; they hold that newspapers are far superior sources for
significant news (Newton). It is a common assumption among American liberals that by reading
newspapers, you will inherently be exposing yourself to far superior news, as opposed to getting
2. ones news from the television, radio, and internet. In addition, they trust liberal news sources far
more than conservative new sources in the expectation that they are getting superior news from
liberal sources (Mitchell; Stroud). This paper is intended to put those stereotypes to the test to
using a content analysis based approach.
In addition, a theory held by the author is that traditional newspapers are finding a new
home on the internet. Many traditional news sources have online sources now, and that content
gets transferred across news mediums. Reading news online is not only something done by the
young, but also the affluent, who are typical newspaper readers (Newton). The content online
should closely resemble the content in newspapers. This hypothesis will also be tested.
Categories will be designed for the tests of the hypotheses that the news sources, or news
stories, will fit into. Many people do not have the time or political skills to parse the quality of
news sources so recommendations will then be given for qualifying news sources based on the
results of the tests. Given the amount of news sources for news stories, and the variations
amongst them, the news sources will then be judged against other news sources in their source
type category, and at large.
Hypotheses:
1) Soft news stories will dominate across all the news sources.
2) Newspapers will have the highest soft news to hard news ratio1
in their coverage.
3) Liberal news sources will have a higher ratio than conservative news sources.
Conservative news will also be dominated by soft news.
4) The ratio for the internet will closely reflect that of newspapers.
1
Any ratio referred to from here on is assumed to be a soft news to hard news ratio.
3. Dataset:
The dataset used for this study was from the Pew Research Center. This dataset
categorizes news stories distributed on mass media from January through May 2012. During the
time period covered by the dataset there was an active Republican primary process as well as the
lead up to the general election. The period of the general election was not included in the
publicly provided dataset. This was also the most recent dataset from an election year made
publicly available. The dataset was recoded to test the hypotheses; the news stories were divided
into one of two categories, ‘soft news' or ‘hard news’2
. The news sources were recoded by news
medium- radio, television, online, or newspapers3
. Conservative and liberal sources were
identified and then recoded accordingly4
. The decision as to which category each news story and
source belonged in was made by the author using the methodology described below.
Methodology:
A hard news story, is defined as a news story that requires previous information to be
understood by the average reader. A typical example is ‘Conflict in the Middle East between
Israelis and Palestinians’. Some are very niche, and have a devoted following that consumes a
great deal of information about that topic, such as ‘Walmart discrimination lawsuit’. Some may
not have much substance on the surface yet actually require previous experience with the subject
to fully comprehend. The story ‘CPAC 2012’ covered many clownish things said by candidates,
but to fully understand the event, media consumers had to know that CPAC is a conservative
organization, that all of the Republican candidates for president would be seeking the
2
The full list of hard and soft news stories is in the appendix.
3
The full list of news sources is in the appendix.
4
The definition of a liberal and conservative new source can be found in the appendix.
4. endorsement of the conference, and be able to tell a moderate position from a radical one. Many
international stories were also included such as, ‘Nigeria Violence’. These stories about
individual events around the world are often just preludes at the beginning of an article about a
wider conflict. Others are very dry and technical news stories that would attract an audience with
high political efficacy like, ‘Obama Streamlines Commerce & Trade Agencies’ or ‘WikiLeaks’.
Soft news was defined as a news story that can be generally understood through the
headline, like ‘Jaycee Dugard - kidnap victim found’. Disaster and celebrity news are included
like, ‘Joplin Tornado’ and ‘Lindsey Lohan’, as well as emotional stories that simply pull at our
heartstrings, such as ‘Missing Girl in Portugal’. Sports stories and those marking holidays also
are included, ‘Memorial Day events/remembrances’ and ‘Kentucky Derby/Triple Crown’.
Science stories and those covering research advancements such as, ‘Heart disease research’ are
included as well. it may seem add to lump advancements in health research, Kim Kardashian,
missing persons, and natural disasters all into one category but they are all similarly covered by
news sources as described below
Matthew Baum’s definition of soft news was used as inspiration and guidance in the
crafting of the definition of soft news. His main characteristic was the absence of any public
policy components, i.e. debate, criticism, or explanation; sensationalized presentation, human-
interest pieces, or dramatic coverage of events like crimes and natural disasters. Stories that do
not fit into this definition were described as hard news (Baum; Baumgartner). Past research
though has categorized entire programs as either soft or hard news, and has left out soft news in
mediums outside of television, such as Baum himself as well as Baumgartner and Morris. The
definition of soft news programs in Baum’s research is being loosely applied to individual news
5. stories in this study, in order to take into account hard news stories on traditionally soft programs
and visa versa, and mediums other than television
I will then run a cross sectional survey of the data on SPSS and create my own charts on
Excel, to test the first four hypotheses. In testing the first hypothesis, a crosstab survey will be
done for every news story, categorized as either hard or soft news against every news source
included in the dataset. At the bottom of the crosstab will be the totals. In order for this test to
support the first hypothesis, the column for the total amount of soft news stories should be
expected to be at a bare minimum 50.1%. If it is below 50.1% this test will fail to find any
evidence to support hypothesis one.
To test the second hypothesis, a crosstab survey will be done for every news story,
categorized as either soft or hard news, against the different types of news sources: newspapers,
radio, television, and online. In order for this test to support the second hypothesis, newspapers
will, need to have the highest ratio. If newspapers do not have the highest ratio, this test will fail
to find any support for hypothesis two.
To test hypothesis three, a cross tabulation will be performed for every news story, again
categorized as either soft or hard news, against the two types of news source, liberal or
conservative. In order for this test to support the first part of the hypothesis, liberal news sources
should have a higher ratio than conservative news sources. If liberal news sources, do not have a
higher ratio than conservative news sources, this test will fail to find any evidence in support of
the first part of hypothesis three. In order for the test to support the second part of hypothesis
three, conservative news sources will have to have a minimum of 50.1% of their coverage be of
soft news. If soft news is less than 50.1% of conservative news sources coverage, this test will
fail to find any evidence to support of the second part of hypothesis three
6. In order for the test of hypothesis two to support hypothesis four, the ratios for
newspapers and online sources should relatively match; if they do not this test will fail to find
anysupport for hypothesis four.
Further Analysis:
A Pearson Chi-Squared test will be performed to scrutinize the results of each test of the
hypotheses for statistical significance. Following the performance of these tests, a determination
will be made as to which news source provides more hard news than soft news based on the
methodology described below.
In order to put a stress test on the results, a Pearson Chi-Square test for statistical
significance was applied to hypotheses one, two, and three. The variables in all of those
hypotheses were categorical, or nominal, considering there is no order or scale for them to follow
("What Is the Difference…”). In that case the correct test for significance is the Pearson Chi-
Square test (Leeper). If the results of those stress tests are below .05, the results will be found to
be statistically significant and not the result of random accident.
The test for hypothesis two also produced the results that were used to analyze hypothesis
four. The the determination of statistical significance of the results for the test of hypothesis two
will also apply to the results for the test of hypothesis four.
Finally, to determine a list of recommended news sources for hard news, the sources will
be judged against the different sources in their media type. Newspapers will only be judged
against other newspapers, television shows will only be judged against other television shows,
etc. In addition, highest performers in both categories across all mediums will also be identified.
7. Those sources with the highest total number of hard new stories and highest ratios will be
recommended news sources.
Results:
The totals for soft to hard news can be seen at the bottom of Chart One in the appendix,
and summarized in the display below. As is apparent, the percentage of soft news is not even
close to above 50.1%. The real percent of soft news stories is in fact 26.1%, with 73.9% of
stories being hard news. The news media is actually dominated by hard news, not soft news. In
addition to that, only one news source in the dataset had more soft news than hard news. That
source was Good Morning America, and 50.1% of its coverage was soft news. This test did not
find any evidence to support hypothesis one.
Soft News Hard News Ratio
Count 4331 12235 01:02.8
% of Total News Stories 26.10% 73.90%
The news medium with the highest ratio was newspapers, an outcome predicted by
hypothesis two. In Chart Two, it can be seen that for every soft news story in a newspaper, there
were 4.86 hard news stories; 82.9% of all stories in newspapers were hard news stories. The
results of this test found evidence in support of hypothesis two.
Medium Soft News Hard News Ratio
Newspaper Count 290 1408 1:4.86
% of Total 17.10% 82.90%
Online Count 767 1982 1:2.59
% of Total 27.90% 72.10%
Television Count 2602 6745 1:2.59
% of Total 27.80% 72.20%
Radio Count 672 2100 1:0.13
% of Total 24.20% 75.80%
8. The results of the cross tabulation showed in Chart Three that the ratio of liberal news
sources was 1:4.71. This was higher than the ratio of conservative news sources which was
1:3.81. Considering that liberal news sources covered hard news stories more than conservative
news sources in this data set, this test found evidence in support of the first part of hypothesis
three. Conservative news sources covered soft news only 20.7% of the time, which is far less
than the minimum threshold needed of 50.1%. This test found no evidence in support of the
second part of hypothesis three. Conservative news sources are not dominated by soft news
stories; conservative news sources are actually dominated by hard news stories.
Bias Soft News Hard News Ratio
Liberal Count 799 3764 1:4.71
% of Total 17.50% 82.50%
Conservative Count 813 3098 1:3.81
% of Total 20.80% 79.20%
The results of the Pearson Chi-Squared test for statistical significance performed on
hypotheses one, two and three were all the same on the SPSS outputs: .000. That result would
suggest that all of the results from hypotheses one, two, and three are statistically significant, and
not the result of chance.
Hypothesis Chi-Square Significance Results
Hypothesis One 0.000
Hypothesis Two 0.000
Hypothesis Three 0.000
Concerning hypothesis four, the results for newspapers and online sources were not even
close. Referring back to Chart Two the ratio for newspapers was 1:4.86 compared to the ratio for
online news sources at 1:2.59. This test found no evidence in support of hypothesis four. A
match was found amongst different news mediums however; the ratio for television sources was
9. 1:2.59. That is an exact match with online sources, suggesting a better match between online
sources and television sources, rather than online sources and newspapers. Television sources
had a total of 9,347 news stories coded and online sources had a total of 2,749 news stories
coded. These numbers are large, and different enough to rule out coincidence, and suggest a
strong correlation between online news sources and television news sources. Hypothesis four
was tested from the same test as hypothesis two, therefore results for the test of hypothesis four
are also statistically significant.
Medium Soft News Hard News Ratio
Newspaper Count 290 1408 1:4.86
% of Total 17.10% 82.90%
Online Count 767 1982 1:2.59
% of Total 27.90% 72.10%
Television Count 2602 6745 1:2.59
% of Total 27.80% 72.20%
The news source with the single highest number of hard news stories overall across all
mediums was “Special Report with Bret Baier” with 623 hard news stories. There was a tie for
second between “CBS Evening News” and “News Hour,” each with 473 hard news stories.
These top three overall were also the top three for the medium of television. In radio, it was
“CBS News Headlines” with the most hard news stories, with 422. The second and third places
in this category were “Morning Edition” with 386 hard news stories, and “All Things
Considered” with 346 hard news stories. For newspapers the, “New York Times” (NYT) was the
highest with 267 hard news stories. “The Washington Post” (WaPo) was the runner up with 220
hard news stories, and the “Los Angeles Times” (LAT) was third with 197. Online news sources
were topped by NYT.com with 204 hard news stories, WaPo.com was close behind with 203,
and the Huffington Post (HuffPo) was third with 190 hard news stories.
10. Medium Source Hard News Stories
Television/Overall Special Report with Bret Baier 623
CBS Evening News 473
News Hour 473
Radio CBS News Headlines 422
Morning Edition 386
All Things Considered 346
Newspaper The New York Times 267
The Washington Post 220
The Los Angeles Times 197
Online TheNewYorkTimes.com 204
TheWashingtonPost.com 203
The Huffington Post 190
*This chart comprises data from charts four, five, six, and seven.
As with the total number of hard news stories, individual television shows outperformed
all other sources in ratio. Three daytime shows on MSNBC, FOX, and CNN did not have one
soft news story rendering a ratio undefined. Of the others with a calculable ratio, “Hardball”
topped the list with 1:57, “Rachel Maddow” came in second with 1:20.9, and “Hannity” came in
third with 1:8.28. For newspapers, WaPo topped the list with a ratio of 1:7.59, the “Traverse City
Record” had a ratio of 1:7.4, and NYT came in third with a ratio of 1:6.51. On the radio, “Sean
Hannity” had the highest ratio with 1:7.17, “Ed Shultz” followed with 1:5.73, and “All Things
Considered” finished third with 1:4.94. Online sources were topped by NYT.com with a ratio of
1:6.8, WaPo.com with 1:5.64, and the WallStreetJournal.com (WSJ) with 1:4.21
11. Medium Source Hard News Soft News Ratio
Overall MSNBC unspecified show 71 0 undefined
FOX unspecified show 36 0 undefined
CNN unspecified show 23 0 undefined
Television Hardball 114 2 1:57.00
Rachel Maddow 209 10 1:20.90
Hannity 331 40 1:8.28
Newspaper Washington Post 220 29 1:7.59
Traverse City Record 74 10 1:7.40
New York Times 267 41 1:6.51
Radio Sean Hannity 208 29 1:7.17
Ed Shultz 252 44 1:5.73
All Things Considered 346 70 1:4.94
Online NewYorkTimes.com 204 30 1:6.80
WashingtonPost.com 203 36 1:5.64
WallStreetJournal.com 181 43 1:4.21
*This chart comprises data from charts four, five, six, and seven.
Analysis
Hypothesis one can be all but disregarded. The chances that only the news sources with
the highest ratios were selected with the news media actually being dominated by soft news is
very unlikely. If that were the truth, the numbers would not be expected to skew so sharply to
hard news coverage. Even the conservative dominated, and, despised by the left, ‘hate radio’ had
more hard news stories than soft news stories (Louis).
Newspapers did appear to have the highest ratios compared to the other news mediums.
This would suggest that of all the mediums, newspapers are the most densely populated with
hard news, although less in number than television and radio. You are least likely to encounter
soft news stories in newspapers, and most likely to be exposed to soft news stories while
watching television and reading online. Online news sources have infinite space and are not
limited by airtime or printing and transporting physical newspapers, yet they had the lowest total
number of hard news stories. This hypothesis warrants extra research in order to confirm its
validity, although initial evidence does support it.
12. Liberal news sources are more densely packed with hard news stories than are
conservative news sources. The difference though is not a great one. The difference between
their two ratios was .9. That’s almost one less hard news story per soft news story on
conservative news sources than liberal news sources, a difference that does not equate to much.
Although the evidence found in the tests does support hypothesis three, and the data is statically
significant, the evidence is flimsy at best. Conservative news sources were also dominated by
hard news stories, and the idea that conservative news sources cover mostly soft news is
discredited. Overtly political programming outperformed the mean ratio for the entire news
media, also suggesting that partisan sources of news are better sources for hard new. Sources
without a partisan bend may be avoiding hard news stories because they cover controversial
topics that would scare away viewers if the coverage is not favorable to one side, or lead to
charges of bias.
The Pearson Chi-Squared tests run on these three hypotheses all returned results far
below .05. This would suggest very high statistical significance for the results. Of the outlets
examined under the criteria applied, newspapers really did cover more hard news than other
source types, the national news media is dominated by hard news, and liberal sources covered
more hard news than conservative news sources. The results were not random but are the result
of actions taken by those news sources.
The most fascinating of all the results came from the test of hypothesis four. Newspapers
and online news sources did not relatively match at all as predicted, but rather an exact match
was found between television programs and online news sources. Hypothesis four is discredited,
but from its ashes came a different hypothesis that the actual match is between online sources
13. and television programs. This hypothesis warrants more research to solidify if there is actually a
match between the two mediums, and what the cause of such a match, if it exists at all.
There are two ways to measure the news shows, the total number of hard news stories
and their ratio. Recommendations will now be given of the highest quality news sources across
all mediums and for the different mediums themselves for the two ways to measure them. Not
every news consumer has access to all mediums-online, newspaper, radio, and television, so to
offer recommendations of good new sources on mediums they do not use would not be helpful.
The overall ranking is good to highlight the highest performing news in the media. That is why a
list of best sources was compiled not only across all mediums, but for each medium as well. The
total number of hard news stories is useful because it is indicative of a source where a consumer
can expose themselves to the widest variety of hard news stories. Given the high numbers, these
stories are likely to be shorter and less in depth. The ratio is useful because is signals that news
consumers can find hard news in a short amount of time without being distracted by soft news
stories. This will reduce the amount of energy required to gain access to that information which
makes that information more accessible to the news consumer. Not all news consumers want or
need to read in depth reporting about complicated subjects, but just knowing the main points
about the important topics of the day is enough to inform them, and it may be all, they are
interested in as well. The public can look at a list of quality news sources and decide which one
suits their intellectual needs and lifestyle.
For the highest number of hard news stories across all mediums, and the medium of
television as well, the number one recommended news source is Special Report with Bret Baier
on the Fox News Channel; for newspapers, the recommended source is the NYT; for radio it is
CBS News Headlines; and for online sources, it is NYT.com. The number one recommended
14. news source with the highest ratio across all mediums is three unidentified daytime shows on the
three twenty-four hour news networks. Considering those might be outliers, the next
recommended source would be Hardball on MSNBC. For online sources, the recommended
source is NYT.com, for radio it is Sean Hannity, and for newspapers it is WaPo.
Criticisms
A deficiency of the test for hypothesis one was that there were not many local news
sources included in this survey. The large majority were national news sources that focus on
national issues that inevitably are larger in importance. Local news sources may cover news that
is closer to the individual, and that will more often than not be soft news. A separate study of
only local news coverage, or another study that includes an equal amount of local to national
sources should be conducted to search for more conclusive evidence to support the findings for
the test for hypothesis one. In addition, more alternative and international news sources should
be included. All the sources in this survey were mainstream American sources and although they
constitute a large portion of the news media, this survey excluded fringe and international news
sources that are nonetheless consumed by American media consumers, such as the BBC, Al-
Jazeera, the Young Turks, the Blaze, Red State, the Drudge Report, the Guardian, and World Net
Daily.
The test for hypothesis two suffers from a similar deficiency in that it does not take into
account local, international, and fringe sources. If these sources could be included into the
survey, more conclusive conclusions could be reached.
The selection of what is a hard news story and what is a soft news story was done by one
person, the author, who is a liberal. The subjectivity of the measurements made by a single
liberal researcher are likely to have an effect (Groeling and Kernell). The bias of the author could
15. be the reason for liberal news sources appearing to have more hard news coverage. In addition,
Hardball and the Rachel Maddow Show scored at the top of the list for their ratios. These two
shows are frequently viewed and enjoyed by the author, and that as well could have a skewing
effect on the results.
Given the girth of material on the internet and in newspapers, a survey with many more
sources included should be conducted before hypothesis four can be considered disproven.
Using ratios to judge large populations can be problematic because it treats all stories the
same, regardless of their length, placement, or factual accuracy (Kronmal). A thirty second clip
at the end of a show that is riddled with errors is judged the same as a front page, in depth, and
accurate story. The same can be said for using the total number of hard news stories as an
indicator of a quality news source. The largest deficiency of this study is not that it does not
include a large enough variety of news sources, but rather that all news stories are categorized
into one of two categories and from then on are all considered equal or opposite. Not all hard
news stories are created equal, and this study fails to take that into account.
A Pearson Chi-Squared test for significance is not the only test that can be run, and
further and helpful suggestions as to proper tests for significance would be greatly appreciated,
as would different perspectives on reading the results. The results are naturally suspect being that
they are all identical, and it would be greatly appreciated if other academics checked the math of
the tests for statistical significance.
Conclusions:
The one solid conclusion that can be reached from this study is that the mainstream
media does cover very serious topics, regardless of what liberals, contrarians, or anybody for that
matter tells you. Any criticism of the news media should not be about the significance of the
16. topics covered. Soft news and hard news are pitched to news consumers on every source, and on
every medium. Those paying attention for the light hearted soft news are actually being exposed
to very serious news programming more than they may actually think. Someone with a light
interest in politics or current events will inevitably be exposed to very hard news stories. Further
research should be conducted into the quality and placement of such news in order to confirm
such a conclusion beyond a shadow of a doubt. An additional study that can be done with this
same data set should do additional research to confirm that hard news stories are being given
more air time and more prominent placement. Considering the disparity in the number of hard
news stories the hypothesis should be: hard news stories get more airtime and are more
prominently placed. Regardless of placement or airtime though, hard news stories are
undoubtedly covered on every news source.
In addition, the stunning findings of the link between the programming on television and
the stories on the internet warrant more attention. This could be due to the visual nature of both
mediums and the transfer of much material to online platforms after being aired on television.
Further research should be conducted to either confirm or debunk this connection, and find a
cause of the relationship if confirmed.
The results of the tests for statistical significance were heavily in favor of the results of
the cross tabulations, but even if the results for statistical significance tests had returned
negatively for the results of the cross tabulations, or are interpreted later to not be in favor of the
results, I still would considered the results of the cross tabulation to be significant. The fact that
the results of the cross tabulations were for the complete opposite of what was expected in
hypothesis one was intrinsically significant, particularly when it is considered hard news is the
majority of day time news programming. I was expecting soft to hard news ratio of about 2.8:1,
17. instead I got a soft to hard news ratio of 1:2.8. No matter what the mathematics say for or against
those results, they are significant to me.
Liberals like to complain about conservative and mainstream media focusing on soft
news, but it might have more to do with them not toting the liberal line, than the substance of
their content. Although conservative news sources do cover very serious topics that qualify as
hard news, their spin and story selection should be examined by future critics. Bill Maher is not
proven completely wrong by this study, but given the ratio of NBC Nightly News with Brian
Williams is 1:1.6, it would seem unlikely that the show only dedicates two to three minutes to
hard news. That being said, the network nightly news shows all performed lower than the rest of
the media. The overall the entire media’s ratio was 1:2.8, which would suggest much room for
improvement from these once stalwarts of quality journalism and reporting.
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Difference between Categorical, Ordinal and Interval Variables? UCLA, n.d. Web. 06
May 2015.
<http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/mult_pkg/whatstat/nominal_ordinal_interval.htm>.
20. APPENDIX
News Souces:
Newspapers
New York Times 001
Washington Post 002
Wall Street Journal 003
USA Today 004
Los Angeles Times 013
Denver Post 117
Houston Chronicle 118
Orlando Sentinel 119
Traverse City Record 120
Daily Herald (Everett, WA) 121
Eagle Tribune (MA) 122
Online
USAToday.com 9am capture 218/228
CNN.com 9am/4pm capture 200/210
Yahoo News 9am/4pm capture 201/211
MSNBC.com 9am/4pm capture 202/212
NYTimes.com 9am/4pm capture 203/213
Google News 9am/4pm capture 204/214
WashingtonPost.com 9am/4pm capture
205/215
FoxNews.com 9am/4pm capture 217/227
ABCNews.com 9am/4pm capture 219/229
Huffington Post 9am/4pm capture 207/237
WSJ.com 9am/4pm capture 208/238
LATimes.com 9am/4pm capture 222/232
AOL News 4pm capture 216
Television
ABC
Good Morning America 401
World News Tonight 402
NBC
Today 421
NBC Nightly News 422
CBS
The Early Show 441
CBS Evening News 442
PBS
NewsHour, 1st half hour 461
NewsHour, 2nd half hour 462
CNN
CNN unspecified show 500
CNN Daytime 501
Situation Room 502
Anderson Cooper 360 504
John King, USA 511
Erin Burnett Outfront 514
MSNBC
MSNBC unspecified show 520
MSNBC Daytime 521
Hardball with Chris Matthews 522
Rachel Maddow Show 528
The Ed Show 530
PoliticsNation 532
Fox News
Fox News unspecified show 540
Fox News Daytime 541
O’Reilly Factor 543
Fox Report with Shepard Smith 545
Hannity 547
Special Report with Bret Baier 548
21. Radio
NPR
Morning Edition, starting at 5/6am 801/811
All Things Considered, starting at 4/5pm
802/804
Other Radio
Rush Limbaugh 821
Ed Schultz 822
Sean Hannity 824
ABC News Headlines 827
CBS News Headlines 828
Liberal/ conservative news sources- sources that overtly broadcast their bias in their
coverage of news stories.
Liberal:
MSNBC
NYTimes
Huffington Post
LATimes
NPR
Ed Shultz
Conservative:
Wall Street Journal
USA Today
Fox News
Rush Limbaugh
Sean Hannity
Soft News Stories:
021 Hurricane Katrina aftermath
035 Baseball steroids scandal
192 College football championship
195 Apple news
204 MLK holiday/remembrances
205 Golden Globe Awards
211 American Idol TV show
215 Oscar awards
244 Grammy Awards
267 Talk show host wars for cable/radio
news
272 VP Cheney health
282 NCAA basketball tournament
283 Gas/oil prices
299 Heart disease research
306 Taxes/tax day
311 Masters golf tournament
316 VA Tech shootings
355 Missing girl in Portugal
365 Memorial Day events/remembrances
366 Lindsay Lohan
378 Hurricane season coming
401 VP Cheney controversies
412 Harry Potter
430 FDA and tainted imported food
438 Connecticut home invasion and murder
488 September 11 commemorations
514 Baseball playoffs
564 Stacey Peterson scandal
568 Natalee Holloway disappearance
608 New Year’s resolutions/celebrations
618 Football playoffs/Super Bowl
699 Kentucky Derby/Triple Crown
760 Missing persons
766 Caylee Anthony, missing two-year-old
779 John Edwards affair
781 Clark Rockefeller kidnapping charges
799 CERN, Big Bang Machine
813 Jennifer Hudson mother, brother killed
836 Newspaper industry troubles
840 Madoff banking scam
868 Sarah Palin news
883 Stanford the swindling financier
22. 909 Lance Armstrong/Tour de France
923 Easter celebrations
961 Amanda Knox, US student charged in
Italy
1017 Texting & driving/multitasking
1031 Jaycee Dugard - kidnap victim found
1045 CO/NYC terror investigation-Zazi
1053 2016 Olympic games
1074 Fort Hood army post shooting
1082 Pap Smear/Cervical Cancer Screening
1083 Oprah leaving in 2011
1084 Tiger Woods news
1094 Susan Powell missing
1105 Haiti earthquake
1114 Toyota accelerator recall
1134 USPS troubles
1144 West Virginia coal mine accident
1154 Oil rig explosion
1160 UVA Lacrosse Murder
1186 Philly Duck/Barge accident
1189 Barefoot bandit
1192 Shirley Sherrod USDA firing
1198 Arlington cemetery mixup
1211 51 Park Place mosque controversy
1217 Muslim backlash (not NYC mosque)
1232 Tyler Clementi suicide
1235 Bullying as an issue
1251 Elizabeth Smart case
1253 Prince William engagement
1266 Facebook/Zuckerberg news
1268 Truvada-Promising HIV/AIDS
Medication
1278 Gabrielle Giffords shooting
1307 Frankfurt Airport shooting
1313 Japan earthquake/tsunami
1317 Air traffic controller mishaps
1327 TX/OK heat, drought, wildfires
1329 Osama Bin Laden killed
1333 Strauss-Kahn sex assault scandal
1334 Joplin & May Midwest tornadoes
1347 Cigarette warning labels
1348 Whitey Bulger arrested
1355 News of the World hacking
1362 Norway explosion and shooting
1365 Abdo/FT. Hood plot
1366 2012 London Olympics
1367 FAA shutdown
1374 Indiana fair stage collapse
1378 DC-area quake
1392 Reno air show crash
1406 Penn State child abuse scandal
1408 Dover AFB scandal
1411 Ortega-Hernandez WH shooting
1414 Syracuse asst coach abuse scandal
1415 Natalie Wood case reopened
1422 FAMU hazing scandals
1424 CT Xmas housefire
1427 LA Car Arsonist
1428 Mt Rainier Ranger Killing
1430 Body Found on UK Queen Estate
1432 Alaska Snow
1433 Midwest Snowstorm
1434 Italian Cruise Ship Crash
1437 Northwest Snowstorm
1439 Joe Paterno Dies
1440 Alabama Tornadoes
1442 Solar Storm
1444 Brewer Obama Confrontation in AZ
1445 Florida Highway Crash
1446 Soccer Riot in Egypt
1448 Pfizer Birth Control Pill Recall
1449 Don Cornelius Dies
1450 Denver Blizzard
1451 LA School Sex Abuse Scandal
1452 Clint Eastwood SB Ad
1454 Whitney Houston Dies
1455 Jeremy Lin News
1456 Honduras Prison Fire
1457 Justice Breyer Robbed
1458 Avalanche in WA
1459 Fatal USMC Helo Crash in AZ
1460 Honeymoon Killer Acquitted
1461 OH School Shooting
1462 Midwest Winter Tornadoes
1463 Disabled Italian Cruise Ship
1464 Davy Jones Dies
1465 Andrew Breitbart Dies
1466 Kony 2012 Viral Video
1467 Solar Storm March 2012
1468 NFL Bounty System
1469 Peyton Manning News
1470 Michigan Tornadoes
23. 1472 French Jewish School Shooting
1474 Acapulco Earthquake
1475 Trayvon Martin Shooting
1476 CO Wildfires
1477 LA Dodgers Sold
1478 Pope Visits Cuba
1479 Record Mega Millions Lottery
1481 Autism Research
1482 Oikos University Shooting
1484 DFW Area Tornadoes
1486 Augusta National Membership
Controversy
1487 VA Beach Navy Jet Crash
1488 Tulsa OK Shooting
1489 Mike Wallace Dies
1490 Indonesia Earthquake
1491 Titanic Centennial
1492 Cory Booker Fire Rescue
1493 Secret Service Prostitution Scandal
1494 Mid-April Midwest Tornadoes
1495 Dick Clark Dies
1496 Pat Summitt Retires
1497 Etan Patz Cold Case
1498 Mad Cow Disease
1500 Late Spring Snow
1502 Junior Seau Death
1503 Maurice Sendak Dies
1504 Adam Mayes Murder & Kidnapping
1506 May 2012 AZ Wildfires
1507 Donna Summers Dies
1508 Flesh-Eating Bacteria
1509 Yahoo CEO Resigns
1510 Mary Kennedy Suicide
1512 SpaceX Rocket Launch
1513 Beryl, Tropical Storm/Depression
1514 Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee
1515 Quake in N Italy
1516 Bloomberg Soda Ban
1517 Canadian Porn Star Killer
1518 Colorado Wildfires
1551 Google news
24. Pipes 24
Hard News Stories:
002 Immigration debate
003 Same-sex marriage debate
005 Terror threats/homeland security
014 Conflict in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians
016 North Korea nuclear conflict
017 War in Afghanistan
018 Iran
019 Congressional political corruption scandals
022 Global warming
023 Supreme Court actions
024 Abortion controversy
025 Stem cell research controversy
037 War on terror general
042 Conflict in Sudan/Darfur
100 Iraq War – events on the ground
101 Iraq War – U.S. homefront
102 Iraq War – policy debate
207 Cuba
221 Energy debate
222 Health care debate
242 Walmart discrimination lawsuit
286 Gays in the military
344 Israel internal politics
353 Pollution/emissions
373 Minimum wage increase
425 Catholic priest abuse scandal
506 Myanmar protests
433 Pakistan
594 China
595 Russia
681 Cyberspace issues
756 Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac troubles
761 U.S. airline industry
762 U.S. auto industry
818 New Obama administration
819 State Governments/ Gubernatorial Races
828 Mexican drug war
829 Somali pirates
832 Mumbai terror attacks
835 Illinois Governor Blagojevich, Senate seat, scandal
862 Economy
901 Education system/debate
25. Pipes 25
950 Gun control
960 Tobacco legislation
1005 Nigeria violence
1026 Lockerbie bomber released
1048 2010 census
1059 2012 Presidential election
1099 Nigerian NWA terror attempt
1102 Yemen new battleground on terror
1110 SCOTUS campaign finance ruling
1139 Legalization of marijuana
1141 Hutaree Militia
1145 Nuclear weapon issues
1194 WikiLeaks
1243 European economy/austerity/strikes
1287 2012 Non-Presidential elections
1316 AT&T-T-Mobile merger
1319 Libya
1338 Mladic arrested for war crimes
1363 East African famine
1372 Wisconsin recalls
1388 Solyndra scandal
1413 Scott Walker recall efforts
1417 Hillary Clinton in Myanmar/Burma
1419 Corzine/MF global scandal
1429 Obama military budget
1431 MS Gov Barbour Pardons Criminals
1435 Obama Streamlines Commerce & Trade Agencies
1436 Online Piracy Legislation
1438 Keystone Oil Pipeline
1441 State of the Union 2012
1443 SCOTUS Rejects GPS Tracker
1447 Susan G. Komen Cuts Planned Parenthood Funding
1453 CPAC 2012
1471 David Cameron State Visit
1480 Obama’s Open Mic Remark on Missile Defense
1483 North American Leaders’ Summit
1485 GSA Head Resigns
1499 Charles Taylor War Crimes Trial
1501 Walmart Mexican Bribery Scandal
1505 US Minority Births Report
1511 NATO Summit
1519 National Security Leaks to NYT
8880 NASA/ Shuttle missions
26. Pipes 26
8881 Who leads the GOP
8882 Tea Party movement general
8883 Middle East unrest
27. Pipes 27
CHART ONE
Source * softnewshardnews Crosstabulation
softnewshardnews
Totalsoft news hard news
Source NY Times Count 41 267 308
% within Source 13.3% 86.7% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.9% 2.2% 1.9%
% of Total 0.2% 1.6% 1.9%
Washington Post Count 29 220 249
% within Source 11.6% 88.4% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.7% 1.8% 1.5%
% of Total 0.2% 1.3% 1.5%
Wall Street Journal Count 25 138 163
% within Source 15.3% 84.7% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.6% 1.1% 1.0%
% of Total 0.2% 0.8% 1.0%
USA Today Count 34 73 107
% within Source 31.8% 68.2% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.8% 0.6% 0.6%
% of Total 0.2% 0.4% 0.6%
LA Times Count 34 197 231
% within Source 14.7% 85.3% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.8% 1.6% 1.4%
% of Total 0.2% 1.2% 1.4%
Denver Post Count 21 106 127
% within Source 16.5% 83.5% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.5% 0.9% 0.8%
% of Total 0.1% 0.6% 0.8%
Houston Chronicle Count 24 124 148
% within Source 16.2% 83.8% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.6% 1.0% 0.9%
% of Total 0.1% 0.7% 0.9%
Orlando Sentinel Count 45 110 155
% within Source 29.0% 71.0% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.0% 0.9% 0.9%
% of Total 0.3% 0.7% 0.9%
28. Pipes 28
Traverse City Record Count 10 74 84
% within Source 11.9% 88.1% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.2% 0.6% 0.5%
% of Total 0.1% 0.4% 0.5%
Daily Herald (WA) Count 11 32 43
% within Source 25.6% 74.4% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.3% 0.3% 0.3%
% of Total 0.1% 0.2% 0.3%
Eagle Tribune (MA) Count 16 67 83
% within Source 19.3% 80.7% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.4% 0.5% 0.5%
% of Total 0.1% 0.4% 0.5%
CNN.com (4pm capture) Count 87 152 239
% within Source 36.4% 63.6% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 2.0% 1.2% 1.4%
% of Total 0.5% 0.9% 1.4%
Yahoo News (4pm capture) Count 78 171 249
% within Source 31.3% 68.7% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.8% 1.4% 1.5%
% of Total 0.5% 1.0% 1.5%
MSNBC.com (4pm capture) Count 63 150 213
% within Source 29.6% 70.4% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.5% 1.2% 1.3%
% of Total 0.4% 0.9% 1.3%
NYTimes.com (4pm capture) Count 30 204 234
% within Source 12.8% 87.2% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.7% 1.7% 1.4%
% of Total 0.2% 1.2% 1.4%
Google News (4pm capture) Count 92 126 218
% within Source 42.2% 57.8% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 2.1% 1.0% 1.3%
% of Total
0.6% 0.8% 1.3%
29. Pipes 29
WashingtonPost.com (4pm
capture)
Count 36 203 239
% within Source 15.1% 84.9% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.8% 1.7% 1.4%
% of Total 0.2% 1.2% 1.4%
FoxNews.com (4pm capture) Count 66 145 211
% within Source 31.3% 68.7% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.5% 1.2% 1.3%
% of Total 0.4% 0.9% 1.3%
USAToday.com (4pm
capture)
Count 82 132 214
% within Source 38.3% 61.7% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.9% 1.1% 1.3%
% of Total 0.5% 0.8% 1.3%
ABCNews.com (4pm
capture)
Count 82 148 230
% within Source 35.7% 64.3% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.9% 1.2% 1.4%
% of Total 0.5% 0.9% 1.4%
LATimes.com (4pm capture) Count 52 180 232
% within Source 22.4% 77.6% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.2% 1.5% 1.4%
% of Total 0.3% 1.1% 1.4%
Huffington Post (4pm
capture)
Count 56 190 246
% within Source 22.8% 77.2% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.3% 1.6% 1.5%
% of Total 0.3% 1.1% 1.5%
WSJ.com (4pm capture) Count 43 181 224
% within Source 19.2% 80.8% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.0% 1.5% 1.4%
% of Total 0.3% 1.1% 1.4%
Good Morning America Count 197 196 393
% within Source 50.1% 49.9% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 4.5% 1.6% 2.4%
% of Total
1.2% 1.2% 2.4%
30. Pipes 30
World News Tonight Count 230 269 499
% within Source 46.1% 53.9% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 5.3% 2.2% 3.0%
% of Total 1.4% 1.6% 3.0%
Today Count 198 262 460
% within Source 43.0% 57.0% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 4.6% 2.1% 2.8%
% of Total 1.2% 1.6% 2.8%
NBC Nightly News Count 223 351 574
% within Source 38.9% 61.1% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 5.1% 2.9% 3.5%
% of Total 1.3% 2.1% 3.5%
The Early Show Count 150 311 461
% within Source 32.5% 67.5% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 3.5% 2.5% 2.8%
% of Total 0.9% 1.9% 2.8%
CBS Evening News Count 221 473 694
% within Source 31.8% 68.2% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 5.1% 3.9% 4.2%
% of Total 1.3% 2.9% 4.2%
NewsHour (2nd 30minutes) Count 97 473 570
% within Source 17.0% 83.0% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 2.2% 3.9% 3.4%
% of Total 0.6% 2.9% 3.4%
CNN unspecified show Count 0 23 23
% within Source 0.0% 100.0% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.0% 0.2% 0.1%
% of Total 0.0% 0.1% 0.1%
CNN Daytime Count 295 458 753
% within Source 39.2% 60.8% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 6.8% 3.7% 4.5%
% of Total
1.8% 2.8% 4.5%
31. Pipes 31
Situation Room Count 44 161 205
% within Source 21.5% 78.5% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.0% 1.3% 1.2%
% of Total 0.3% 1.0% 1.2%
Anderson Cooper 360 Count 98 216 314
% within Source 31.2% 68.8% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 2.3% 1.8% 1.9%
% of Total 0.6% 1.3% 1.9%
John King, USA Count 61 179 240
% within Source 25.4% 74.6% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.4% 1.5% 1.4%
% of Total 0.4% 1.1% 1.4%
Erin Burnett Outfront Count 100 256 356
% within Source 28.1% 71.9% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 2.3% 2.1% 2.1%
% of Total 0.6% 1.5% 2.1%
MSNBC unspecified show Count 0 71 71
% within Source 0.0% 100.0% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.0% 0.6% 0.4%
% of Total 0.0% 0.4% 0.4%
MSNBC Daytime Count 119 356 475
% within Source 25.1% 74.9% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 2.7% 2.9% 2.9%
% of Total 0.7% 2.1% 2.9%
Hardball with Chris
Matthews
Count 2 114 116
% within Source 1.7% 98.3% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.0% 0.9% 0.7%
% of Total 0.0% 0.7% 0.7%
Rachel Maddow Show Count 10 209 219
% within Source 4.6% 95.4% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.2% 1.7% 1.3%
% of Total
0.1% 1.3% 1.3%
32. Pipes 32
The Ed Show Count 44 253 297
% within Source 14.8% 85.2% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.0% 2.1% 1.8%
% of Total 0.3% 1.5% 1.8%
PoliticsNation Count 26 116 142
% within Source 18.3% 81.7% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.6% 0.9% 0.9%
% of Total 0.2% 0.7% 0.9%
Fox News unspecified show Count 0 36 36
% within Source 0.0% 100.0% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.0% 0.3% 0.2%
% of Total 0.0% 0.2% 0.2%
Fox News Daytime Count 84 378 462
% within Source 18.2% 81.8% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.9% 3.1% 2.8%
% of Total 0.5% 2.3% 2.8%
O'Reilly Factor Count 42 254 296
% within Source 14.2% 85.8% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.0% 2.1% 1.8%
% of Total 0.3% 1.5% 1.8%
Fox Report with Shepard
Smith
Count 206 376 582
% within Source 35.4% 64.6% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 4.8% 3.1% 3.5%
% of Total 1.2% 2.3% 3.5%
Hannity Count 40 331 371
% within Source 10.8% 89.2% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.9% 2.7% 2.2%
% of Total 0.2% 2.0% 2.2%
Special Report with Bret
Baier
Count 115 623 738
% within Source 15.6% 84.4% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 2.7% 5.1% 4.5%
% of Total
0.7% 3.8% 4.5%
33. Pipes 33
All Things Considered
(starting at 5pm)
Count 70 346 416
% within Source 16.8% 83.2% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.6% 2.8% 2.5%
% of Total 0.4% 2.1% 2.5%
Morning Edition (starting at
6am)
Count 111 386 497
% within Source 22.3% 77.7% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 2.6% 3.2% 3.0%
% of Total 0.7% 2.3% 3.0%
Rush Limbaugh Count 47 223 270
% within Source 17.4% 82.6% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.1% 1.8% 1.6%
% of Total 0.3% 1.3% 1.6%
Ed Schultz Count 44 252 296
% within Source 14.9% 85.1% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 1.0% 2.1% 1.8%
% of Total 0.3% 1.5% 1.8%
Sean Hannity Count 29 208 237
% within Source 12.2% 87.8% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 0.7% 1.7% 1.4%
% of Total 0.2% 1.3% 1.4%
ABC News Headlines Count 162 263 425
% within Source 38.1% 61.9% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 3.7% 2.1% 2.6%
% of Total 1.0% 1.6% 2.6%
CBS News Headlines Count 209 422 631
% within Source 33.1% 66.9% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 4.8% 3.4% 3.8%
% of Total 1.3% 2.5% 3.8%
Total Count 4331 12235 16566
% within Source 26.1% 73.9% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
% of Total 26.1% 73.9% 100.0%
34. Pipes 34
CHART TWO
sourcetype * softnewshardnews Crosstabulation
softnewshardnews
Totalsoft news hard news
sourcetype newspaper Count 290 1408 1698
% within sourcetype 17.1% 82.9% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 6.7% 11.5% 10.2%
% of Total 1.8% 8.5% 10.2%
online Count 767 1982 2749
% within sourcetype 27.9% 72.1% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 17.7% 16.2% 16.6%
% of Total 4.6% 12.0% 16.6%
television Count 2602 6745 9347
% within sourcetype 27.8% 72.2% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 60.1% 55.1% 56.4%
% of Total 15.7% 40.7% 56.4%
radio Count 672 2100 2772
% within sourcetype 24.2% 75.8% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 15.5% 17.2% 16.7%
% of Total 4.1% 12.7% 16.7%
Total Count 4331 12235 16566
% within sourcetype 26.1% 73.9% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
% of Total 26.1% 73.9% 100.0%
35. Pipes 35
CHART THREE
bias * softnewshardnews Crosstabulation
softnewshardnews
Totalsoft news hard news
bias liberal news sources Count 799 3764 4563
% within bias 17.5% 82.5% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 49.6% 54.9% 53.8%
% of Total 9.4% 44.4% 53.8%
conservative news sources Count 813 3098 3911
% within bias 20.8% 79.2% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 50.4% 45.1% 46.2%
% of Total 9.6% 36.6% 46.2%
Total Count 1612 6862 8474
% within bias 19.0% 81.0% 100.0%
% within softnewshardnews 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
% of Total 19.0% 81.0% 100.0%
36. Pipes 36
CHART FOUR-NEWSPAPERS
Source Hard News Soft News Ratio
New York Times 267 41 01:06.5
Washington Post 220 29 01:07.6
Wall Street Journal 138 25 01:05.5
USA Today 73 34 01:02.2
LA Times 197 34 01:05.8
Denver Post 106 21 01:05.1
Houston Chronicle 124 24 01:05.2
Orlando Sentinel 110 45 01:02.4
Traverse City Record 74 10 01:07.4
Daily Herald (WA) 32 11 01:02.9
Eagle Tribune (MA) 67 16 01:04.2
totals 1408 290 01:04.9
