Pocketbooks Top Politics
The presidential campaign once again was the most heavily covered story of the week, accounting for 38% of all news coverage. The public, however, was more interested in rising gas prices and the economy, both topics that received far less media coverage.
A Statistical Portrait of Hispanic Women in the U.S.
Annual births to Hispanic women in the U.S. exceeded one million in 2006, and one-in-four children in the U.S. under age 5 is Hispanic. These and other interesting data are included in a new Pew Hispanic Center fact sheet.
Pope Benedict’s Image Improves Following U.S. Visit
Currently, 61% of Americans say they have a favorable impression of the pontiff, up from 52% in late March, while views of his outreach to other faiths have also shown substantial improvement.
Pope’s Visit Draws Heavy Media Coverage
The relationship between the relatively new pope and the hurting U.S. church was the primary story line in news reports of the pontiff’s visit.
Democratic Campaign Taking a Toll on Both Obama and Clinton
In four separate surveys conducted since March 20, when asked about each of the Democratic candidates, between 25%-31% of the public has said their opinions have recently become less favorable.
Obama’s Lead Over Clinton Disappears; Unfavorables Rise for Both Candidates
Barack Obama’s slipping support for the Democratic nomination reflects a modest decline in his personal image rather than improved impressions of Hillary Clinton. Both retain advantage over McCain as economy tops public’s concerns.
Writing, Technology and Teens
Most teenagers spend a considerable amount of their life composing texts, but they don’t regard most of the material they create electronically as real writing. Does e-communication help – or hurt – students’ writing skills?
More Americans View Campaign As Too Negative
Barack Obama’s ‘bitter’ comment registered widely but just 29% of Americans say they paid very close attention to news about the presidential campaign last week, the lowest percentage recorded since December 2007.
How Different Are People Who Don’t Respond to Pollsters?
Survey research firms face increasingly high non-completion rates. Analysis based on extra efforts to reach non-responders finds few differences between the responses of the easy- and hard-to-reach.
Less News is Good News for McCain
While McCain has been consistently less visible to the public, far more Americans say the news they have been hearing about him is generally positive than say the same about coverage of Obama or Clinton.
