The focus of this data collection was media slant in news coverage in the United States in 2005. Automated searches of newspaper articles and congressional records were conducted of 1,000 key phrases addressing issues such as abortion, gun control, taxes, health care, war, the environment, immigration policy, stem cell research, and minorities. A new index of media slant was then constructed that measured the similarity of a news outlet's language to that of the congressional Republican or Democrat.