PEJ: Fox News and MSNBC Had Similar News Agendas in 2011

Cable operators had different definitions of news in 2011, though Fox and MSNBC were more on the same page, while one network newscast appeared to be delivering on a promise of taking a harder news edge.

That is according to a year-in-review report from Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, based primarily on content analysis drawn from PEJ's New Media and News Coverage indices.

According to that analysis, MSNBC and Fox were actually more attuned in their treatment of the worsening economy than either was with CNN. MSNBC gave the story 30% of the airtime studies, and Fox 21%, while CNN only gave it 14%. PEJ pointed out that both Fox and MSNBC have sibling business news channels, which might account for the amount of coverage.

The tables turned in terms of international coverage, with CNN, which has a sibling international channel, devoting 34% to international news, with only 20% for Fox and 14% for MSNBC.

(...)


CBS devoted 30% to two major stories, Middle East unrest and the economy, while ABC gave 24% of its news hole to those stoies, and NBC 23%.

CBS also spent less time on celebrity, lifestyle or sports stories -- 7% vs. 9% for ABC and 11% for NBC -- and less time on disaster coverage: 7% vs. 11% for ABC and 9% for NBC.

full: http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/478235-PEJ_Fox_News_and_MSNBC_Had_Similar_News_Agendas_in_2011.php