--- "title": "Topline" "description": "New tabloid breed is more than screaming headlines but could they be blueprint to the future? Topline Total n = 2,321 Note: Totals may not equal 100 due to rounding. Number of Stories per Paper in Sample Outlet # of stories Boston Metro 321 Boston Globe 222 DC Express 367 DC Examiner 634 * Washington […]" "date": "2005-12-12" "authors": - "name": "Pew Research Center: Journalism & Media staff" "job_title": "Guest Contributor" "url": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/journalism/2005/12/12/topline-38/" --- # Topline ### New tabloid breed is more than screaming headlines but could they be blueprint to the future? #### Topline
Total n = 2,321 Note: Totals may not equal 100 due to rounding. | **Number of Stories per Paper in Sample** | | --- | | **Outlet** | \# of stories | | Boston Metro | 321 | | Boston Globe | 222 | | DC Express | 367 | | DC Examiner | 634 \* | | Washington Post | 270 | | Dallas Quick | 293\*\* | | Dallas Morning News | 214 | | Total | 2321 | \* One day, May 13, missing from sample \*\* One day, May 26, missing from sample | **Story Origination** | | --- | | **Story Origination** | **Newspaper-Owned Tabloids (Quick, Metro, Express)** | **Independent Tabloid (Examiner)** | **Broadsheets (Wash Post, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News)** | **Total** | | Staff News | 8.3% | 15.8% | 72.7% | 29.9% | | Staff Column | 8.7 | 5.7 | 20.5 | 11.5 | | Wire News–Affiliated | 14.9 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 8.0 | | Wire News–Unaffiliated | 56.3 | 51.3 | 0.6 | 38.0 | | Combo Staff and Wire-News | 0.6 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 0.8 | | Syndicated Column–Affiliated or Unaffiliated | 5.8 | 4.6 | 0 | 3.7 | | Non-Staff/Non-Wire (Freelance) | 0.9 | 12.9 | 1.8 | 4.5 | | Q+A/Advice Column | 4.1 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.8 | | No Source/Can’t Tell | 0.5 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.9 | | **Geographic Focus** | | --- | | **Geographic Focus** | **Newspaper-Owned Tabloids (Quick, Metro, Express)** | **Independent Tabloid (Examiner)** | **Broadsheets (Wash Post, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News)** | **Total** | | Local | 21.8% | 32.0% | 52.5% | 34.0% | | Other U.S. | 22.7 | 16.9 | 8.5 | 16.8 | | National | 12.9 | 13.7 | 17.7 | 14.6 | | Mix U.S./Foreign | 5.9 | 5.7 | 4.8 | 5.5 | | International | 13.7 | 11.0 | 4.8 | 10.3 | | Not Applicable/No Specific Location | 22.9 | 20.7 | 11.6 | 18.9 | | **Story Length in Words** | | --- | | **Story Length** | **Newspaper-Owned Tabloids (Quick, Metro, Express)** | **Independent Tabloid (Examiner)** | **Broadsheets (Wash Post, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News)** | **Total** | | Less than 100 words | 15.1% | 14.5% | 2.5% | 11.1% | | 101-250 | 53.0 | 22.4 | 2.8 | 29.4 | | 251-500 | 30.5 | 38.2 | 5.5 | 25.0 | | 501-1000 | 1.4 | 23.3 | 56.8 | 24.3 | | 1001 or more | 0 | 1.6 | 32.3 | 10.3 | | **Story Topic** | | --- | | **Story Topic** | **Newspaper-Owned Tabloids (Quick, Metro, Express)** | **Independent Tabloid (Examiner)** | **Broadsheets (Wash Post, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News)** | **Total** | | Government | 9.2% | 12.6% | 15.6% | 12.0% | | Crime | 13.4 | 10.1 | 12.5 | 12.2 | | Business | 6.3 | 8.5 | 15.4 | 9.7 | | Domestic Issues | 9.7 | 11.5 | 12.6 | 11.1 | | Science | 3.7 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.3 | | Foreign Relations | 6.7 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 4.9 | | Accidents/Disasters | 1.9 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.2 | | Celebrity/Entertainment | 14.7 | 6.6 | 5.7 | 9.7 | | Lifestyle | 13.6 | 16.4 | 12.9 | 14.1 | | Defense/Military | 3.6 | 5.4 | 2.5 | 3.7 | | Sports | 16.5 | 20.0 | 18.0 | 17.9 | | Other | 0.8 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 1.0 | | **Number of Sources** | | --- | | **Number of Sources** | **Newspaper-Owned Tabloids (Quick, Metro, Express)** | **Independent Tabloid (Examiner)** | **Broadsheets (Wash Post, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News)** | **Total** | | No Sources | 24.1% | 23.8% | 7.2% | 18.9% | | 1 Source | 32.3 | 25.2 | 9.1 | 23.3 | | 2 Sources | 23.3 | 21.3 | 8.6 | 18.3 | | 3 Sources | 9.9 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.5 | | 4 or More Sources | 10.3 | 18.3 | 64.4 | 29.0 | | **Young Demographic Impact** | | --- | | **Youth Demographic Impact** | **Newspaper-Owned Tabloids (Quick, Metro, Express)** | **Independent Tabloid (Examiner)** | **Broadsheets (Wash Post, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News)** | **Total** | | Demographic Impact Explicit | 8.3% | 1.9% | 9.2% | 6.8% | | Demographic Impact Implied | 6.9 | 6.5 | 5.4 | 6.3 | | No Description of Demographic Implied | 84.8 | 91.6 | 85.4 | 86.9 | | **Principal Newsmaker Age Group** | | --- | | **Principal Newsmaker Age Group** | **Newspaper-Owned Tabloids (Quick, Metro, Express)** | **Independent Tabloid (Examiner)** | **Broadsheets (Wash Post, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News)** | **Total** | | Child (Under 18) | 1.7% | 2.7% | 4.8% | 2.9% | | Young Adult (18-35) | 16.1 | 14.8 | 10.1 | 13.9 | | Middle Age (36-60) | 18.8 | 14.7 | 18.1 | 17.4 | | Elderly (61 or older) | 6.8 | 7.1 | 5.9 | 6.6 | | Don’t Know/Can’t Tell Age | 5.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 4.0 | | No Principal Newsmaker | 51.5 | 57.4 | 57.8 | 55.0 | | **Journalist Opinion** | | --- | | **Journalist Opinion** | **Newspaper-Owned Tabloids (Quick, Metro, Express)** | **Independent Tabloid (Examiner)** | **Broadsheets (Wash Post, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News)** | **Total** | | No Opinion Present | 64.2% | 64.2% | 61.0% | 63.2% | | One Statement of Opinion | 11.9 | 7.6 | 8.4 | 9.7 | | Two or More Statements of Opinion | 3.2 | 3.5 | 7.5 | 4.6 | | Not Applicable (Opinion Piece) | 20.7 | 24.8 | 23.1 | 22.5 | | **Journalist Opinion — Excluding Opinion Columns and Editorials (n= 1,798)** | | --- | | **Journalist Opinion** | **Newspaper-Owned Tabloids (Quick, Metro, Express)** | **Independent Tabloid (Examiner)** | **Broadsheets (Wash Post, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News)** | **Total** | | No Opinion Present | 81.0% | 85.3% | 79.4% | 81.6% | | One Statement of Opinion | 15.0 | 10.1 | 10.9 | 12.5 | | Two or More Statements of Opinion | 4.0 | 4.6 | 9.8 | 5.9 | | **Range of Viewpoint** | | --- | | **Range of Viewpoint** | **Newspaper-Owned Tabloids (Quick, Metro, Express)** | **Independent Tabloid (Examiner)** | **Broadsheets (Wash Post, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News)** | **Total** | | All One Opinion | 8.9% | 11.8% | 5.4% | 8.6% | | Mostly One Opinion | 9.5 | 6.8 | 23.5 | 13.0 | | Two Views Present | 6.3 | 5.4 | 18.6 | 9.8 | | More Than Two Views | 0.2 | 0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | | Not Applicable/Non-Controversial | 75.1 | 76.0 | 51.8 | 68.3 | | **Background Information** | | --- | | **Background Information** | **Newspaper-Owned Tabloids (Quick, Metro, Express)** | **Independent Tabloid (Examiner)** | **Broadsheets (Wash Post, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News)** | **Total** | | Presence of Background Information | 80.2% | 91.8% | 96.3% | 88.3% | | No Background Information | 19.8 | 8.2 | 3.7 | 11.7 | | **Future Implications or Impact** | | --- | | **Future Implications or Impact** | **Newspaper-Owned Tabloids (Quick, Metro, Express)** | **Independent Tabloid (Examiner)** | **Broadsheets (Wash Post, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News)** | **Total** | | Presence of Future Implications or Impact | 43.5% | 42.1% | 75.1% | 52.7% | | No Future Implications or Impact | 56.5 | 57.9 | 24.9 | 47.3 |