Introduction and Summary Voters generally believe the media has been fair to both major presidential candidates, but more say the press has been fair to Al Gore than to George W. Bush. Fully 74% of voters say the vice president has gotten fair press treatment, while 65% say the same about Bush. Nearly six-in-ten voters […]
Introduction and Summary With the start of the new year, the presidential campaign has begun in earnest for many Americans. More people are paying attention now than in the fall, and the back and forth between candidates has started to change voter perceptions. In particular, Al Gore has begun to redefine himself and challenger Bill […]
Introduction and Summary Public support for the war in the Balkans is fading. Approval of U.S. participation in the NATO effort has fallen to 53% from 62% in mid-April, and fewer Americans are paying very close attention to the air war now than just three weeks ago. At the same time, the public is increasingly […]
Introduction and Summary The Pew Research Center’s biennial news use survey finds that overall Americans are reading, watching and listening to the news just as often as they were two years ago. But the type of news Americans follow and the way they follow it are being fundamentally reshaped by technological change and the post-Cold […]
Introduction and Summary A strong State of the Union address combined with public anger at the news media fueled President Clinton’s unexpected lift to a 71% approval rating — even as allegations of a White House sex scandal consumed Washington. When asked in a Pew Research Center re-interview survey why they had changed their minds […]
Survey Findings In 1997, Americans were happier with their own lives, felt more religious conviction and were less attentive to the news than at any time in recent years. Fully 47% of Americans say that they are highly contented with their lives today, a jump of 10% points in just the last year and 9% […]
Survey Findings An analysis of public attentiveness to more than 500 news stories over the last ten years confirms that the American public pays relatively little attention to many of the serious news stories of the day. The major exceptions to this rule are stories dealing with natural and man-made disasters and U.S. military actions. […]
Introduction and Summary The numbers are still modest but the Internet is beginning to play a role in the news habits of a significant number of American consumers. Over one-in-five Americans now go online — either at home, work or school. Nearly three-fourths of this group sometimes get news from the World Wide Web or […]
Summary On the occasion of our transition from Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press to the Pew Research Center, we offer an overview of what we have learned during the past five years about the news stories that are followed closely by the public and how much Americans know about current events. […]
Report Summary Events overseas are overshadowing the importance of domestic news to the public. Americans are ten times more likely to cite an international news story (40%) than a domestic one (4%) as the most important event of the month. This is the fifth month in a row that Americans have named overseas stories more […]
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