1. 1 P UBLIC A FFAIRS N EWS & I NFORMATION S OURCES 2005 Washington Leadership Study

2. 2 QSA Research is a full-service research and consulting firm based in Alexandria, Virginia serving business, government and non-profit organizations. Overview An independent study on the use of major daily newspapers, Capitol Hill publications, the Internet, and television news as sources for news and information about public policy Conducted blind so that respondents did not know the study sponsor Based on interviews with 455 federal government leaders in both the Legislative and Executive Branches

3. 3 Executive Office of the President Leadership at Executive Departments and Agencies Includes: Senior Officials – Above highest ranking civil service - Presidential and Schedule C appointees - Senior Executive Service - Military: Highest ranking uniformed officer in office Respondents include: - Cabinet secretaries and deputies - Directors, commissioners, chiefs of staff Does NOT include: Junior staff members, Administrative personnel, interns etc... Executive Support Staff Administrative Support Staff Executive Office of the President Executive Branch (254 Interviews) Study Participants Executive Branch

4. 4 United States Congress Leadership at Legislative Offices and Committees Legislative Support Staff Administrative Support Staff Legislative Branch (201 Interviews) Study Participants Legislative Branch Includes: Types of respondents - Congressional staff - Key aides speaking for Members of Congress - Committee Staff Directors Top aides/staff - Press Secretaries - Chiefs of Staff - Legislative Directors/Assistants Does NOT include: Junior Staff Members Administrative Personnel Interns etc...

5. 5 Measurement Objectives Most important media information source Readership of print media –Major daily newspapers –Limited-circulation Capitol Hill publications –Other publications read professionally Use of the Internet Viewing of TV news Responses to paid public policy messages

6. Which is your single most important source of public affairs news and information? Media Sources P UBLIC A FFAIRS N EWS & I NFORMATION S OURCES

7. 7 Most Important News Source Q. Which is your single most important source of public affairs news and information? 48% named newspapers their single most important source for public affairs news and information That is 2 1/2 times as many as named the Internet It is nearly 4 times as many as named Hill publications and 6 times as many as named television Among All Washington Leaders Other Publications Radio E-mail Newsletters Television Hill Publications The Internet Newspapers

8. 8 Most Important News Source Q. Which is your single most important source of public affairs news and information? Newspapers dominate in both the Executive and Legislative Branches (48%) One quarter of Legislative Branch leadersbut just 4% of Executive Branch leaders consider Hill publications as their single most important source of public affairs news and information By Branch of Government Other Publications Radio E-mail Newsletters Television Hill Publications The Internet Newspapers Executive BranchLegislative Branch

9. What daily newspapers do you read regularly (3 out of 4 issues) when you are in Washington? Newspapers P UBLIC A FFAIRS N EWS & I NFORMATION S OURCES

10. 10 Almost 9 out of 10 leaders read at least three out of four issues of the Washington Post About one-third read the New York Times and one fifth read the Wall Street Journal on a regular basis Q. What daily newspapers do you read regularly when you are in Washington?* *Note/ Regular readership is defined as reading at least three out of four issues Among All Washington Leaders The Examiner Express USA Today Washington Times Wall Street Journal New York Times The Washington Post Regular Newspaper Readership*

11. 11 By Branch of Government Executive BranchLegislative Branch Q. What daily newspapers do you read regularly when you are in Washington?* *Note/ Regular readership is defined as reading at least three out of four issues Regular Newspaper Readership* The Washington Post is the only major newspaper that reaches almost nine in ten leaders in both branches of government It is the only newspaper to reach at least half of Legislative Branch leaders and at least one fourth of Executive Branch leaders USA Today Washington Times Wall Street Journal New York Times The Washington Post

12. 12 Among All Washington Leaders who read The Washington Post: By Issue Involvement *Note/ Regular readership is defined as reading at least three out of four issues Regular Readership of The Washington Post* Q. What daily newspapers do you read regularly when you are in Washington?* The Washington Post is a primary source for news and information for leaders in all areas of government policy Health Care Energy Defense Environment Foreign Affairs Communications Financial Services

13. 13 38% of Washington leaders read the Washington Post exclusively More than half (56%) of all Washington leaders read more than one daily newspaper Q. What daily newspapers do you read regularly when you are in Washington?* *Note/ Regular readership is defined as reading at least three out of four issues Among All Washington Leaders Exclusive and Multi-Paper Readership Exclusive Regular Readership of The Washington Post Multi-Newspaper Readership Exclusive Regular Readership of other Daily Newspapers None (1%)

14. 14 When the 56% of all Washington leaders who read more than one daily newspaper on a regular basis were asked which newspaper they read when they have time to read just one, 67% (representing 38% of all leaders) named the Washington Post Q. When you are in Washington and have time to read just one newspaper, which one do you read? *Note/ Busy Day Exclusive readers are defined as readers who turn to one particular newspaper when they only have time to read one. Among All Washington Leaders who read more than one newspaper on a regular basis (56%) "Busy Day" Exclusive Readership* Washington Post - 67% New York Times 9% Wall Street Journal 6% Washington Times 6% USA Today 1% Other 11%

15. 15 Q. When you are in Washington and have time to read just one newspaper, which one do you read? Exclusive and "Busy Day" Exclusive Readership Combined Factoring in 38% exclusive regular readers and the 38% busy day exclusive Post readers, 76% of all leaders are exclusively reading The Washington Post on a busy day Washington Post 38% 38%76% New York Times 1% 5%6% Wall Street Journal 2% 3%5% Washington Times 2% 3%5% USA Today0%1%1% Exclusive Busy Day Exclusive Among All Washington Leaders Busy Day Combined

16. 16 *Note/ Percent who read each newspaper regularly. Percentage of Regular Readers* of Other Major Newspapers Who Also Read the Post The Washington Post reaches the vast majority of readers of other major daily newspapers In fact, all but 4% of New York Times readers are also regular readers of The Washington Post Washington Times (17%) Wall Street Journal (20%) USA Today (8%) New York Times (32%) Q. What daily newspapers do you read regularly when you are in Washington?* Among All Washington Leaders

17. 17 By Branch of Government Executive BranchLegislative Branch Q. When you are in Washington on a Sunday, which Sunday newspaper do you read? *Note/ Regular readership is defined as reading at least three out of four issues Regular Sunday Newspaper Readership* More than 4 out of 5 Executive Branch leaders read the Sunday Washington Post when they are in Washington on a Sunday 68% of Legislative Branch leaders are regular readers of the Sunday Washington Post The Examiner Washington Times New York Times The Washington Post

18. What magazines or Capitol Hill publications do you read regularly* when you are in Washington? *Note/ Regular readership is defined as reading at least three out of four issues Magazines etc. P UBLIC A FFAIRS N EWS & I NFORMATION S OURCES

19. 19 Roll Call (48%) and the Hill (42%) lead all Capitol Hill Publications, but neither reaches as many as half of all Washington leaders Among All Washington Leaders CQ Monitor National Journal Congressional Quarterly Congress Daily The Hill Roll Call The Washington Post Limited Circulation (25,000 - 50,000) *Note/ Regular readership is defined as reading at least three out of four issues Regular Readership of Hill Publications* Q. What Capitol Hill publications do you read regularly when you are in Washington?*

20. 20 Regular Readership of Hill Publications* The two leading Capitol Hill PublicationsRoll Call and The Hilldo an effective job of reaching Legislative Branch leaders, but reach very few Executive Branch leaders By Branch of Government CQ Monitor National Journal Congressional Quarterly Congress Daily The Hill Roll Call The Washington Post Executive BranchLegislative Branch Q. What Capitol Hill publications do you read regularly when you are in Washington?* *Note/ Regular readership is defined as reading at least three out of four issues

21. 21 Readership of non-newspaper publications by Washington leaders is highly fragmented, with even the top publication reaching only 12% of all leaders Q. What other professional publications – if any – do you read that are relevant to your work? Among All Washington Leaders Other Publications Read Professionally* *By 5% or more Economist Jane's Defense Review Navy Times U.S. News and World Report Early Bird Defense News Time Newsweek Government Executive Federal Times The Washington Post

22. 22 No publicationsother than top newspapers and Capitol Hill publicationsare read by more than 21% of all leaders Q. What other professional publications – if any – do you read that are relevant to your work? By Branch of Government: Legislative Other Publications Read Professionally* *By 5% or more New Republic Economist Atlantic Monthly National Review U.S. News and World Report Weekly Standard Time Newsweek The Washington Post

23. 23 Executive Branch leaders are focused on government sources Federal Times (18%) and Government Executive (17%) are the most popular publications among this group Q. What other professional publications – if any – do you read that are relevant to your work? By Branch of Government: Executive Other Publications Read Professionally* *By 6% or more Defense Week Armed Forces Magazine Janes Defense Review Navy Times Early Bird Defense News Government Executive Federal Times The Washington Post

24. Do you use the Internet as a source of news and information about public policy? The Internet P UBLIC A FFAIRS N EWS & I NFORMATION S OURCES

25. 25 86% of all Washington leaders regularly use the Internet as a source for news and information about public policy washingtonpost.com is the leading Internet site for news and information about public policy Q. What Website do you use regularly as a source for news and information about public policy? All Washington Leaders Who Use the Internet (86%) Websites Used for News and Policy Information* *By 5% or more Drudge Report Google.com nationaljournal.com cnn.com washingtonpost.com wallstreetjournal.com CQ.com MSNBC.com newyorktimes.com Yahoo.com Foxnews.com Early Bird

26. 26 91% of all Legislative leaders regularly use the Internet as a source for news and information about public policy More than half regularly use washingtonpost.com, which leads the closest runner-up by 19 percentage points Legislative Leaders Who Use the Internet (91%) Websites Used By Legislative Branch Leaders for News and Policy Information* *By 8% or more Google MSNBC.com wallstreetjournal.com Drudge Report CQ.com nationaljournal.com cnn.com newyorktimes.com washingtonpost.com Q. What Website do you use regularly as a source for news and information about public policy?

27. 27 82% of all Executive leaders regularly use the Internet as a source for news and information about public policy CNN.com (29%) leads washingtonpost.com (24%) by 5 percentage points Q. Do you use the Internet as a source of news and information about public policy? Executive Branch Leaders Who Use the Internet (82%) Websites Used By Executive Branch Leaders for News and Policy Information* *By 7% or more Govexec.com Foxnews.com Yahoo.com Earlybird.com Google MSNBC.com washingtonpost.com cnn.com newyorktimes.com

28. Viewing of the evening news on national networks, local stations and morning news shows Television P UBLIC A FFAIRS N EWS & I NFORMATION S OURCES

29. 29 36% of all Washington leaders are not regular viewers of the evening news on any broadcast or cable network Three in 10 leaders view news on CNN and almost one-quarter view news on Fox News at sometime during the evening Among the regularly scheduled news programs, NBC is the most popular Regular Viewing of the Evening News on National Cable or Broadcast Networks* MSNBC BBC CBS PBS ABC Fox News CNN NBC Among All Washington Leaders Does Not View C-Span Q. On what national cable or broadcast networks do you regularly watch evening news programs when you are in Washington?* *Note/ Regular viewership is defined as viewing at least three out of four shows

30. 30 Fewer Legislative than Executive Branch leaders view regularly scheduled news programs on NBC, ABC, CBS and PBS Regular Viewing of the Evening News on National Cable or Broadcast Networks MSNBC BBC CBS PBS ABC Fox News CNN NBC Does Not View C-Span By Branch of Government Executive BranchLegislative Branch Q. On what national cable or broadcast networks do you regularly watch evening news programs when you are in Washington?* *Note/ Regular viewership is defined as viewing at least three out of four shows

31. 31 Regular Viewing of the Evening News on Local Stations 3 out of 5 Washington leaders are not regular viewers of local evening broadcast news programming Among All Washington Leaders News Channel 8 WUSA: Channel 9 (CBS) WTTG: Channel 5 (FOX) WJLA: Channel 7 (ABC) WRC: Channel 4 (NBC) Does Not View Q. On what broadcast networks do you regularly watch local evening news programs when you are in Washington?* *Note/ Regular viewership is defined as viewing at least three out of four shows

32. 32 Regular Viewing of the Evening News on Local Stations Three quarters of Legislative leaders are not regular viewers of local evening broadcast news programming News Channel 8 WUSA: Channel 9 (CBS) WTTG: Channel 5 (FOX) WJLA: Channel 7 (ABC) WRC: Channel 4 (NBC) Does Not View By Branch of Government Q. On what broadcast networks do you regularly watch local evening news programs when you are in Washington?* Executive BranchLegislative Branch *Note/ Regular viewership is defined as viewing at least three out of four shows

33. 33 Two thirds of all Washington leaders are not regular viewers of cable or broadcast television morning shows Regular Viewing of TV Morning Shows Early Show (CBS) MSNBC C-Span Good Morning America (ABC) CNN Fox Weekday (FOX) Today Show (NBC) Does Not View Among All Washington Leaders Q. On what national cable or broadcast networks do you regularly watch TV morning news programs when you are in Washington?* *Note/ Regular viewership is defined as viewing at least three out of four shows

34. 34 Regular viewership of TV morning shows is significantly more in the Legislative Branch (44%) than in the Executive Branch (27%) By Branch of Government Regular Viewing of TV Morning Shows *By 2% or more Early Show (CBS) MSNBC C-Span Good Morning America (ABC) CNN Fox Weekday (FOX) Today Show (NBC) Does Not View Q. On what national cable or broadcast networks do you regularly watch TV morning news programs when you are in Washington?* Executive BranchLegislative Branch

35. 35 70% of leaders say they have taken action in response to a paid public policy message in the print or online version of a newspaper Q. Have you taken any action during the past year or so in response to a paid public policy message in the print or online version of a newspaper? Responses to Paid Public Policy Messages Among All Washington Leaders Called a phone number in the ad Called a meeting to discuss Made the issue a higher priority Used in decision-making process Clipped or saved the message Wrote a letter, memo or e-mail Used to support own position Sent a copy to someone Looked at a website in the ad Looked for more information Discussed issue with colleagues Took Any of These Actions

36. Conclusions P UBLIC A FFAIRS N EWS & I NFORMATION S OURCES

37. 37 Conclusions Newspapers remain by far the most important news source –Nearly half said newspapers are their single most important news source –More than twice as many as any other medium 88% read The Washington Post regularly –Nearly three times as many as read any other major daily newspaper –The Post is the only newspaper to reach more than 22% of the Executive Branch

38. 38 Conclusions The Internet is the second most important news source –Used by more than 8 in 10 leaders –Nearly one in five say it is their single most important news source Overall, washingtonpost.com leads all other news sites by a wide margin –In the Legislative Branch, it is ahead of the top second tier site by a margin of nearly 20 percentage points. –In the Executive Branch, CNN.com leads washingtonpost.com, which is number two, but CNN leads by just 5 percentage points.

39. 39 Conclusions Capitol Hill publications are the third most important news source –13% say they are their single most important news source –But Hill publications do not reach the Executive Branch Roll Call and The Hill are the top Hill publications, but regular readership of both lags behind The Post

40. 40 Conclusions Readership of other publications is highly fragmented. –Legislative leaders read more general interest publications –Executive Branch leaders read more specialized publications –None (except Newsweek at 21%) are read by more than one in five of either Legislative or Executive Branch leaders

41. 41 Conclusions Television news shows have limited audiences –66% do not watch TV morning shows –61% do not watch the local evening news –36% do not watch the evening news on cable or broadcast networks 30% watch CNN at some time during the evening 23% watch FOX News at some time during the evening 23% watch the evening news on NBC

42. 42 Conclusions Paid public policy messages in newspapers (print or online) help set the agenda for the decision-making process Seven in ten took action as a result of seeing a public policy message: –Nearly two-thirds discussed issue with colleagues –Nearly half looked for more information –More than four in ten looked at a listed website –More than one-third sent a copy to someone –Nearly three in ten supported their position –Nearly one-quarter used in the decision-making –One-quarter clipped or saved the message