The Content of Online News in the Mainstream U . S . Press , 2001 – 2010

Extending a baseline study of three print newspapers—the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Portland Oregonian since 1894—the third of three studies of electronic editions shows a return to new-long-journalism content. Stories in 2001 ran longer, explained more, and relied on groups and officials, but included more current, past, and local references. In 2005 web editions experimented with serious and sensational content. Authoritative outlets and political stories were long, explanatory, geographically broad, and temporally complex, with more groups and officials. Other outlets and accident or crime stories were short, episodic, event-centered, and local. By 2010 the internet editions had more of the latter news, but serious stories continued to run long, analyzing broader regions and referring to other times. The trends included who appeared in news except for groups, which reversed a century of increasing attention. Overall the news returned to older patterns of long news content, especially at the Times, and serious coverage of politics and employment tended to enhance the status of journalists.