In 1963, in a very different media environment from the one today, AEI started publishing a news digest as an in-house resource. As its value within the Institute grew, the AEI News Digest was soon expanded and made available to members of Congress and people in the executive branch. 

By the early 1970s, the News Digest contained articles, editorials, commentary, and news analyses excerpted from some 40 newspapers and the major wire services, Reuters and Associated Press. It was prepared and edited daily and completed by 3:00 a.m. each morning. It was then delivered to congressional and executive branch readers so it would be on their desks when they arrived at work that morning. Circulation was restricted through contractual agreements with participating newspapers. While it was not available to the general public, by the early 1970s, it was being distributed to more than 1,000 offices.

Another innovative feature of the News Digest was its survey of television news coverage. The AEI News Digest summarized the ABC, NBC, and CBS evening news programs and enabled readers to compare them according to the time allocated to each news item and the order in which news stories were presented. In 1963, the CBS Evening News program became network television’s first half-hour weekly newscast (up from their 15 minute broadcast that began much earlier), and ABC and NBC, the only other networks at the time, followed suit. The Nixon administration produced a comprehensive News Digest of its own, and some said it was modeled after AEI’s.

The media environment has changed significantly, and now AEI Today, the Institute’s premier newsletter, reaches over 30,000 subscribers each morning. Appearing in inboxes by 6 a.m. each day, AEI Today presents our scholars’ research and opinions on the day’s pressing news. Stay ahead of the day by signing up below. We promise we won’t spam you.

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