… George Washington University political scientist Danny Hayes has described how the “issue attention cycle” results in a surge in news coverage of a new issue like gun control followed by a fairly rapid decline, which received increased attention after the Sandy Hook massacre but ultimately trailed off, following a […] Read more »
Nate Silver Went Against the Grain for Some at The Times
Why did Nate Silver decide to leave The New York Times and accept an offer from ESPN? That’s the cause of great speculation in media circles at the moment. As has been noted elsewhere, there’s no question that The Times made a big pitch to keep him and that the […] Read more »
Nate Silver Joins ESPN in Multi-Faceted Role
Leading statistician and best-selling author Nate Silver will join ESPN later this year, bringing his unique brand of creativity, journalism and statistical analysis through his award winning website, FiveThirtyEight.com. The site’s new incarnation will allow Silver to return to his sports roots while expanding his approach to numerous disciplines, including […] Read more »
Quest for Silver: How ESPN/ABC stole Nate Silver from The New York Times
The battle for data whiz Nate Silver, fought secretly and aggressively by several of the nation’s top news executives for the better part of a year, was won by ESPN and ABC News (both part of The Walt Disney Company) after the 35-year-old was promised extensive air time, a role […] Read more »
2013 First Amendment Survey: First Amendment Goes Too Far
One third of Americans, 34 percent, thinks the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees, according to the 2013 State of the First Amendment national survey that was released July 16. That number is up from 13 percent from 2012, the largest single-year increase in the history […] Read more »
Modest Public Interest in Close of Zimmerman Trial
The final days of the trial of George Zimmerman, which concluded July 13 with a verdict of not guilty, attracted relatively modest public interest overall. In a weekend survey, 26% say they were following news about the trial very closely. … However, the story has consistently attracted far more interest […] Read more »