Effective press coverage of effective messages in new Pew report

As noted here, the Pew Center on the States today released an important new report on criminal justice control in America titled "One in 31: The Long Reach of America Corrections."  Among the virtues of the new Pew report is its emphasis on key comparative spending numbers and its state-by-state accounting of criminal justice control numbers, which in turn makes it easy for the press to provide effective stories about the report.

For example, the New York Times has this coverage of the Pew report headlined "Prison Spending Outpaces All but Medicaid."  This kind of coverage should help everyone understand why prison spending and criminal justice reform issues must be high on everyone's agenda in these lean times.  And, thanks to the state-by-state data, there are already too many local stories about the new Pew report to read.  here are links to a few of the local stories that caught my eye:

• Louisiana's incarceration rate is No. 1 in nation
• Miss. corrections rate 2nd highest in nation
• Study: 1 in 25 adult Ohioans in prison, on parole or probation
• 1 in 30 Washingtonians is in Jail or on Parole
• Study: Fewer adults jailed in RI than in most states
• Study: Mass. fifth in nation for adults in prison, probation or parole