Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Journalism

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    In Election Week, Media Pivots from Race to Rahm

    The campaign press declared Barack Obama’s Nov. 4 victory a culturally transforming event, but was far less certain it was a politically transforming moment. And within days, the search for lessons had yielded to speculation about the new administration.

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    Near Campaign’s End, It’s All About Numbers

    In the final week of the campaign, both presidential candidates continued to pound away at each other’s economic policies. But as they examined the details of the last polls, the battlegrounds, and the strategy, the media had all but anointed a winner.

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    As the Candidates Head Down the Stretch, Horse Race Dominates

    Colin Powell’s endorsement and Joe Biden’s gaffe were almost one-day wonders last week as the news cycle sped up in the campaign’s final days. Now, it’s battleground states and polls that seem to be capturing much of the media’s attention.

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    Winning the Media Campaign

    With fewer than two weeks left before election day, how has the press covered the race for president? How has the tone of McCain’s coverage compared with Obama’s, or Palin’s. A new PEJ study from the conventions through the last debate offers answers.

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    A Plumber (Sort of) Gets His 15 Minutes

    The final presidential debate was the top campaign storyline last week. And both candidates rolled out major economic packages. But perhaps the most memorable event was the media descending on an unlikely new voice of the working class.

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    Economy Shrinks, Tactics Grow, in Media Narrative

    The stock market tanked, and the candidates took citizen questions during a presidential debate. But with Election Day looming in less than a month, the media spotlight last week was trained on the hostile rhetoric heard on the campaign trail.

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    A Continuum of Condemning the Press

    The 2008 race for the White House has once again seen intensifying complaints about media bias, most recently from the McCain camp. The charges have ranged from liberalism, to sexism, and more. A new PEJ review offers an historical perspective on the evolution of the tenuous relationship between press and political leaders.

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    Veep Debate, Palin Rule Campaign News

    Coverage of the nation’s financial crisis reached new heights last week as Congress struggled to produce a bailout package. But when it came to the presidential campaign narrative, the match-up in Missouri proved more interesting to the media.