Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Journalism

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    War of Words Over War in Iraq

    General David Petraeus’ appearance on Capitol Hill last week helped turn the Iraq debate into one of the biggest talk topics of the year. The general may not have changed many minds in Congress, but he provided talk hosts on both sides of the political spectrum with plenty of ammunition.

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    With Petraeus as Star, Iraq Debate has its Biggest Week

    The general’s appearance before Congress last week was widely expected to be a pivot point in the political brawl over Iraq war policy. The media swarmed, but the story they told may help explain why David Petraeus’s testimony seemed, for now, to cement the status quo.

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    The Latest News Headlines—Your Vote Counts

    What would a world in which citizens set the news agenda rather than editors look like? A new PEJ study comparing user-news sites, like Digg, Del.icio.us,and Reddit, with mainstream news outlets provides some initial answers. The snapshot suggests both a drastically different set of topics and information sources.

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    Talk Hosts Sound Off on Craig and Thompson

    One is a longtime senator who may be driven from office by scandal. Another is a former senator who announced his intent to seek the highest office in the land. Both were target-rich environments for the talk shows last week and both took their share of lumps. This, plus Michael Savage’s memorable Pavarotti tribute.

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    A Message From Osama Puts Terror in the News

    The political skirmishing in advance of General Petraeus’ progress report made the Iraq debate the top story last week. And Fred Thompson’s entry helped generate coverage of the 2008 Presidential race. But a new video, a major arrest in Germany, and two mysterious men in Seattle proved why terrorism is still a major newsmaker.

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    Anti-War Sentiment Dominates Talk Airwaves

    It’s been a while since the debate over Iraq policy was the nation’s top talk show topic. But the Iraq doubters drove the suddenly re-ignited conversation on the airwaves last week. Meanwhile, the strange saga of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and his dog fighting operation proved a difficult topic to tackle.

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    The V-Word Heats Up the Iraq Debate

    Two different destructive storms struck the continent and even in the dog days of summer, the presidential race continued to attract significant media interest. But several factors—an intelligence report, a senatorial statement, and a presidential analogy—all combined to re-ignite the debate over U.S. policy in Iraq.

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    Genius or Villain, Rove is a Worthy Topic for Talk Hosts

    The departure of the Bush Administration’s most-polarizing adviser gave talk shows plenty to talk about last week, as hosts from the left and right assessed the White House tenure of Karl Rove. But even as the aide prepared to shuffle off to Texas, the campaign was on most hosts’ minds.