1% news, 99% spin-Media Re:public

[FACT comments: Okay, we admit it. Spin really, really bugs us.  They keep you oh-so-busy at your little job making a living to make your payments and look after your family. Spin is what happens when you aren't paying attention. (Hint: That's why they keep you oh-so-busy.) So you never get to think about the bigger picture.]

The incredible shrinking news
Media Re:public: March 26, 2008

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mediarepublic/2008/03/26/the-incredible-shrinking-news/

Think we hardly get any international news in our mainstream media? Right you are. But we don’t get any domestic coverage either, unless it’s about the elections, according to the insightful but not cheerful new State of the Media Report from the great folks at the Project for Excellence in Journalism:
“The agenda of the American news media continues to narrow, not broaden. A firm grip on this is difficult but the trends seem inescapable. A comprehensive audit of coverage shows that in 2007, two overriding stories — the war in Iraq and the 2008 campaign — filled more than a quarter of the newshole and seemed to consume much of the media’s energy and resources. And what wasn’t covered was in many ways as notable as what was. Other than Iraq — and to a lesser degree Pakistan and Iran — there was minimal coverage of events overseas, some of which directly involved U.S. interests, blood and treasure. At the same time, consider the list of the domestic issues that each filled less than a single percent of the newshole: education, race, religion, transportation, the legal system, housing, drug trafficking, gun control, welfare, Social Security, aging, labor, abortion and more.” — The State of the News Media 2008, by the Project for Excellence in Journalism