With so many contradicting media articles citing research, knowing what to believe can be frustrating for everyday media consumers. Without diving into academic text themselves, it can be quite the challenge for consumers to know if the appropriate level of authority to attribute to the research cited (is the journal being cited well-respected? Are the findings controversial? Do similar studies exist with different results?). The particular factors which influence the amount of coverage academic research receives from journalists are not well understood, which further complicates the situation. We have gathered and analyzed descriptive data about media articles and the academic works they cite to help us understand what sort of research receives attention from journalists. Through this research we hope to give consumers a better understanding of the relationship between journalism and academic research, and thereby enable them to create more informed interpretations of information they encounter in media.