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The article discusses the growth of muckraking, or investigative reporting, around the world, noting the creation of the professional association Global Investigative Journalism Network in response to the murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze. It is said that digital technologies including the Internet, mobile phones, and high-definition video have enabled aspiring journalists. Journalists in developing nations have investigated stories such as the 2011-2012 Arab Spring protests in the Middle East, corruption in China, and government impropriety in Russia.

The author reflects on the status of news organizations arguing that they need to act more boldly if they are to survive in the business. He describes the anxiety and uneasiness felt by journalists from a national magazine who gathered to discuss their future and how to prepare for it. Their major worries include whether they will be able to continue doing the job right with all the stresses and cutbacks, as well as how to maintain accuracy with less time.

The article discusses the rise of non-profit organizations involvement in the reporting of news. The author states that with cutbacks and downsizing going on at newspapers and other traditional media outlets, incompatible organizations and foundations are developing their own news services and reporting capabilities. The author profiles the organization ProPublica, an investigative news operation based in New York City that offers their stories to other media outlets. The author also discusses the relationship of National Public Radio (NPR) to non-profit organizations and charitable foundations. INSETS: Big Bucks for Investigative Reporting;Healthy Initiatives.

The article focuses on the challenge facing journalists with respect to the use of the term person of interest in federal cases. Journalists should know how to handle the vague term. Reporters use the term without pressing police to define it. Because of its lack of real definition, the interpretation of the term is left to the audience. Kristin Gazlay, deputy managing editor for national news at the Associated Press, said that the media need to look at why a person is a person of interest and to recognize that police use the term a technique to pressure people to talk.

This article compares the audience trends between newspapers and other traditional media. Circulation, which has been on an orderly downward trajectory for two decades, has shown signs of free fall. Daily newspaper circulation dropped 1.9 percent in 2004, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations numbers. The audience trends in cable news are not promising. Cable's audience grew during 2004 as a result of expanded distribution. Unlike cable, the broadcast networks still have a massive audience, and thus have further to fall. But television networks are hypersensitive to even small movements in the Nielsen numbers these days.

This article discusses the tight control of information by U.S. President George W. Bush's administration and its implications for the press and the succeeding presidencies. Edwin Chen, who has covered the White House for six years for the Los Angeles Times, realized what he was up against early in Bush's first term. The press has been butting up against this brick wall of White House communication policy, and complaining about it, for long enough that stories about on-message, no leaks, and no dissent, are becoming a bit clichéd. Many feared that this administration's strategy will be a template for subsequent commanders in chief. An emphasis on tighter news management has been building as each successive administration learns from the previous one. A rigid approach to staying on message and a clampdown on access for reporters and the public have been increasingly used by the executive branch, a trend that began to take shape during U.S. President Ronald Reagan's administration, if not earlier. The current Bush administration has shown that the method can be perfected, with little to no downside for the White House. But veterans of the White House beat, and even former press secretaries, say that, as of 2005, people are witnessing a more disciplined media relations machine than in the past. Dealing with issues inside, rather than in newsprint and on air, is of course preferable for a press office. Ever-present security concerns further hamper access. The media have come out on the losing end of an arrangement that, theoretically, is supposed to have both sides working toward a common goal: keeping the U.S. public informed. The administration's news management has taken many forms.

This article discusses that despite that most U.S. news media have drastically underplayed genocide in Sudan's Darfur region, there are several journalists who did outstanding work regarding the event. As the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide was being observed in 2004, news managers once again were under fire, this time for scant coverage of the bloodletting in Darfur, where millions have faced torture, starvation, rape and murder at the hands of brutal Arab militias known as Janjaweed. Many of the stories on Sudan published in the nation's newspapers tended to be 500 words or less, giving short shrift to a complex conflict with powerful ethnic, religious and economic factors. Many accounts lacked historical context or perspective, often oversimplifying the bloodshed in Darfur. And few of them appeared on the front page. Only a handful of newspapers have sent their own correspondents to the scene. Foreign desks more often turn to wire service briefs or an occasional piece by a stringer. Serious reporting on the subject largely has been absent on the networks and on cable. Loren Jenkins, foreign editor for National Public Radio, which has paid more attention to the issue than most news organizations, agrees that much more needs to be done. While the overall media performance on Darfur has been disappointingly weak, some news organizations have covered the story with distinction. The Washington Post and New York Times have emerged as leaders in persistent, on-the-ground coverage, not just at the Chad border, where tens of thousands of survivors have fled, but deep in vast wastelands where the Janjaweed have left a trail of scorched villages, rape and wanton killing. INSETS: Untitled;The Roots of the Strife;Untitled;Untitled

This article reports on how the Ashbury Park Press became popular through its award-winning article series on how New Jersey legislators profit from their jobs. On September 21, 2003, the Ashbury Park Press launched a compelling series titled Profiting from Public Service: How Many N.J. Legislators Exploit the System. For days, the newspaper detailed abuses and provided examples that filled 38 pages with 72 stories. The series was dispatched over the Gannett wire to the chain's six other New Jersey papers, which had all contributed at least one reporter to a five-month effort spearheaded by the Press and captained by its energetic new executive editor, William C. Hidlay. During the 2004 journalism awards harvest, the series won two lucrative prizes. But the articles also prompted controversy in New Jersey political and journalistic circles, where people had been accustomed to a more restrained form of reporting. Although the series did not accomplish all that it set out to do, notably in the area of pay-to-play reform, what the Legislature enacted amounted to the biggest ethics reform in New Jersey since Watergate. The Press will track the impact of pay-to-play reform when it takes effect in 2006.

Presents letters to the editor referencing articles and topics published in the "American Journalism Review." Article on press coverage and presidents, by Rachel Smolkin; Discussion of the 400th Krispy Kreme event; Article on newspapers and their readers, by Smolkin.

Focuses on the treatment received by U.S. President George W. Bush from the media. Factors affecting the attitude of the media towards Bush; Issues that receive insufficient attention from the press; Comments from "National Review" editor Rich Lowry on the issue.

Discusses the evolution of news reporting. Changes in news technology; Changes in the corporate structure of journalism; Definition of news.

Discusses the role of media coaches in providing clients with ways to deal with questions from the bad press. Concept of coaching or media training; First lesson coaches teach their clients; Experiences of several media coaches on interviewing clients.

The article discusses how the Internet is becoming the vehicle for newspapers to get a breaking story out fast. Some in the industry still believe that it should be printed first, but with the speed that information travels and the competitive market of news reporting, posting stories online is becoming standard. According to Mike Shannon, managing editor of the "Oklahoman," the guiding principle is that breaking news immediately goes to the Internet and project-type stories first appear in print.

This article reports on First Amendment crusader Lucy Dalglish's battle when journalists face jail time for protecting sources or the government tries to keep public information off-limits. When Vanessa Leggett was hauled into jail in 2001 for refusing to hand over to the police her notes for a true-crime book she was researching, she eventually became a media heroine, a symbol for press freedom in the U.S. Leggett was in trouble, but not their kind of trouble. Then she tried the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and its tireless leader, Lucy Dalglish. Soon thereafter, the world heard about Vanessa Leggett. The horn Dalglish blew included pelting media organizations with releases, trying to band them together to stand up for Leggett en masse, speaking up for her cause on national news shows and filing court briefs. Dalglish, 45, the Reporters Committee's executive director since 2000, is a consistent force for the First Amendment both behind the scenes and in the forefront of the fray. Since September 11, it has been a rough ride for someone who considers it her job to clear barriers between journalists and information. While Leggett passed days and days in jail, an encouraging letter from Dalglish kept her spirits up.

The article presents the views of journalists about confidential sources, based on a survey conducted by the "American Journalism Review." Seth Borenstein, a correspondent for "Knight Ridder," believes in the protection of the identity of a source after granting confidentiality. Jack Kresnak, a reporter for "Detroit Free Press," says that government offices have tightened the releasing of information. Robert McClure, a reporter for "Post-Intelligencer," stated that their policy on the use of anonymous sources is not to attribute information to unnamed sources except in exceptional circumstance.

Reports on the decision of U.S. news organizations to reduce the number of journalists stationed in Iraq as of December 2003. Primary reason behind the decision; Total number of journalists embedded with the military; Status of conducting media coverage in Iraq.

This article reports on how newspapers are making changes to endure in the Internet era. The Internet has jolted the newspaper industry, forcing a rethinking of how to practice journalism and do business. Some of these measures include reducing print circulation, focusing more on local coverage, reducing staff size, increased reader participation, and the merging of departments. However, the author worries about how people will learn about national and international news in an era where globalization is making those stories more important not less.

A list of headlines and excerpts from newspapers is presented. One headline from the "New York Times" online edition read "Highway Chief Resigns After Death in Tunnel." The "Orlando Sentinel" had the heading "CBS Starts Campaign to Sell Katie Couric." In the "Sacramento Valley Mirror," a head line read "Bill Banning Horse Slaughter Saddled with Problems."

The article emphasizes the social significance of the mass media. The media coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana depicts the commitment of journalists to live by their duties. Journalists were very brave to search for information about the hurricane and report it to the public. The media was able to provide the public an up-to-date news about the disaster. This hurricane coverage is of great significance not only to journalists but to the public as well. The job of journalists is very important and it is one of the jobs that serves the public during any disasters.

Presents the author's views on a June 2005 issue of the newspaper "Washington Post" and on news media. Overview of the news covered in the newspaper; Factor that led to people to assume that Michael Jackson is guilty on charges of child molestation; Consequence of the decision of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to relax its rules against monopoly ownership.

Comments on the trend of U.S. newspapers converting to tabloid size. Incident that led to the trend; Advantages of tabloid-size format; Benefits of the change.

This article presents a list of newspaper articles of various issues, including the Cinco de Mayo celebration.

This article presents quotations by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Rochelle Riley of the Detroit Free Press.

The article notes the decision of the editors of American Journalism Review to include the front-of-the-book sections, The Beat and Drop Cap, in the periodical as of April 2004. The Beat, which replaces Bylines, will include longer pieces on people in the journalism industry. Drop Cap, on the other hand, is simply a hipper name for a section that both addresses serious media issues and includes fun and funky items about the press. Readers of the periodical will also notice that columns and other departments in the periodical have been given a new look, one that is modern and inviting.

Discusses some of the journalism standards that were discarded by news agencies during coverage of the sex scandal involving US President Bill Clinton and former federal employee Monica Lewinsky. Comments on news organizations that failed to validate sources; Importance of making distinction; Story published Dallas Morning News; Advantage of online journalism.