Media Coverage

Is the reporting of media outlets biased in favor of firms that advertise with them? A new study looked at the relationship between advertising by car manufacturers in U.S. newspapers and news coverage of car safety recalls in the early 2000s. The study found that newspapers provided less coverage of recalls issued by manufacturers that advertised more regularly in their publications than of recalls issued by other manufacturers that did not advertise, and this occurred more frequently when the recalls involved more severe defects.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported that between March 22 and April 22 of 2020, 58 firearms were seized in passenger carry-on baggage. This compares to 346 firearms during the same period last year. When the TSA started crunching the numbers, they found that 1.24 firearms were detected per 100,000 passenger screenings this year, compared to 0.46 firearms detected per 100,000 passenger screenings in 2019. Is this a moment for celebration, or a cause for concern? The TSA has so far offered no explanation.

Traffic congestion is a serious problem in the United States, but a new analysis shows that interactive technology -- ranging from 511 traffic information systems and roadside cameras to traffic apps -- is helping in cities that use it.

Shortly after the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Gov. Tony Evers' stay-home order last week, pictures of people drinking in bars ricocheted around social media, creating the impression among some that the state was wide-open for business. 

Compared to two months earlier, an additional 3.5 million Ohioans hunkered down in April at the height of Gov. Mike DeWine’s 40-day stay-at-home order. After a week of slowly reopening the state economy, 80% of these people have left their homes, according to an Akron Beacon Journal and USA TODAY analysis of cellphone data compiled by SafeGraph, a third-party analytics firm.