Interest in Campaign News On Par With 2007
While the focus this year has been on the GOP’s race, Democrats express about as much interest in 2012 candidates as do Republicans.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
While the focus this year has been on the GOP’s race, Democrats express about as much interest in 2012 candidates as do Republicans.
Mitt Romney is clearly the candidate the public says they are hearing the most news about, while mentions of Sarah Palin have plummeted over the past two weeks.
Most Americans say the news media has devoted too much coverage to Barack Obama’s family and personal life, but the right amount to his leadership style and policy proposals.
Public interest in the Middle East conflict is on par with other recent foreign news stories, but is lower than in the Israel-Hezbollah war in August 2006. A slightly greater percentage say the media have not been critical enough of Hamas than say the same about coverage of Israel (30% vs. 25%, respectively).
A compilation of the top 15 stories in which public opinion played a significant role, and the year’s most notable “non-barking dogs.”
Interest in news about inflation at the pump goes beyond learning where to find the cheapest gallon and extends to impacts on the national economy.
Fully 45% of Americans paid very close attention to the Va. Tech shootings but more than two-thirds of Americans (68%) paid very close attention to the Columbine incident in 1999.
Once again, public opinion played a major role in the most important news stories of the year. Some of the strongest 2006 trends in public opinion carried over from previous years — notably growing concern about the Iraq war and mounting dissatisfaction with the performance of the Republican-controlled Congress.
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