Journalism

Our researchers surveyed 4,584 people in three U.S. news markets and found that people generally read national news more, but they perceived local news somewhat more favorably. Nearly 90% felt at least somewhat confident they could spot "fake news," but less than three-quarters of the people could correctly select fake headlines. Read More

With the help of a national newsroom, we conducted 118 experiments on Facebook to test the success of different headlines, images, and status updates on Facebook. Read More

After interviewing 75 female professional journalists, researchers found that online harassment is a pressing issue that requires immediate attention. Read More

Our researchers found that online political quizzes increase people’s interest in political news and make them feel more knowledgeable about politics. Read More

In partnership with The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), we are analyzing how attitudes change based on seeing a play. This is a progress report on our first effort. (photo: Leah Mahan) Read More

The Center for Media Engagement partnered with a local news organization, City Bureau, to explore attitudes towards, and preferences for, Chicago news media. Read More

The inclusion of Trust Indicators can result in higher opinions about the news organizations and journalists that use them, according to the Center for Media Engagement's research with the Trust Project. Read More

Redesigning a website's homepage could improve page views and time on page, according to a CME study that was conducted in conjunction with the launch of two news organizations' redesigned homepages. Read More

In the weeks leading up to the 2016 election, we surveyed Snapchat users about their use of the app, specifically for news and politics. Read More

In the run-up to the 2016 general election, local news outlets focused less and less on coverage of issues, with coverage of corruption and scandal receiving more page views and social referrals. Read More

We partnered with 20 U.S.-based news organizations to conduct one of the largest-ever surveys of online news commenters. Read More

People who receive mobile news notifications more frequently visit the corresponding news applications. Read More

Do audiences engage more with news coverage of campaign strategy or issues? Read More

In response to a newspaper series on the issue of poverty, the public tweeted more about poverty. The discussion, however, lasted only a short period. Read More

By interviewing working journalists, we learned that they do read the comments and respond to commenters. Read More

Our survey of news editors and directors offers a glimpse at current newsroom practices. Read More

We tested whether headlines written using varying levels of uncertainty prompt different reactions. Read More

As news habits change, it's important to understand what is available for news audiences across various platforms. Read More

This report describes what we learned from analyzing 9,616,211 comments people posted to The New York Times website. Read More

Solutions-oriented headlines yield a modest increase in clicks over non-solutions headlines, but other factors may also affect clicks. Read More

There are benefits to newsrooms using solutions-based journalism, but it is not a cure-all for audience engagement. Read More

We describe the demographic makeup, attitudes, and behaviors of the people who comprise the online commenting world. Read More

Headlines are the marquees of news stories. These short statements located at the beginning of an article frame the information that is to follow. They encapsulate a portion of the story, presenting a snapshot of reality. The New York Times headlines an article as “Climate Change Will Disrupt Half of… Read More

There is a significant increase in page views and learning from articles when people browse a news website with a contemporary design compared to one with a classic, newsprint-style layout. Read More

People are more willing to get involved in political discussion when they're provided with background information containing pro and con arguments. Read More

Through six focus groups, we learned that people prefer in-person discussions about politics rather than those that take place online, and are concerned that political discussion might lead to conflict. Read More

There are several benefits - and limits - to using a three-column comment section as opposed to using a traditional one-column section. Read More

For three months, we attempted to code for incivility within online news comments in new ways. In this progress report, we share thoughts on what worked, what didn't, and what research can be done next. Read More

Uncivil comments decreased when a journalist interacted with online commenters. Read More

We have partnered with the National Institute for Civil Discourse to research how to improve online discourse. We began by reviewing academic research on creating civil online spaces. In the coming months, we will conduct a series of focus groups to understand people's thoughts about discussing politics online. Read More