Is the Internet Bad News for Journalism?

The Internet is changing journalism—but not in the ways many predicted. Contrary to expectations that coverage would broaden, a new report says the news agenda is actually narrowing. The Iraq war and presidential campaign represented more than a quarter of news stories last year, while countries besides Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan drew less than 6% of US news, reports the AP.

Rather than more stories and more perspectives, online journalism in many cases simply means websites that repackage news produced elsewhere, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism. The news side of journalism is dynamic, says the report, but the ability of consumers to find ad-free news is hurting the business side, and organizations are shrinking their staffs. (More journalism stories.)