Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Overview Before you read the report, test your own News IQ by taking the interactive knowledge quiz. The short quiz includes many of the questions that were included in a national poll. Participants will instantly learn how they did on the quiz in comparison with the voting public as well as with people like them. […]
Overview Public views of economic news—both overall and across most sectors—are little changed in recent months. Today, about half of Americans (53%) say they are hearing a mix of good and bad news about the economy, while 41% say they are hearing mostly bad news and just 3% say they are hearing mostly good news. […]
Overview Large majorities of Americans are following coverage of the Olympic Games in London. Nearly eight-in-ten (78%) say they have watched or followed Olympic coverage either on television, online or on social networks. Television remains far-and-away the leading platform for Olympic coverage; 73% say they have watched coverage on television. Still, 17% say they have […]
Update: In the years since this piece was published, the survey field has changed. The link between Americans’ willingness to take surveys and their political views became stronger. Researchers developed new methods for addressing this. Pew Research Center’s surveys of U.S. adults now weight on political party affiliation, but the way that is done differs […]
Overview 2012 Election Voter Preference Trends Track voter preferences for Obama vs. Romney overall and by demographic group. By a 52% to 37% margin, more voters say they have an unfavorable than favorable view of Mitt Romney. The poll, conducted prior to Romney’s recent overseas trip, represents the sixth consecutive survey over the past nine […]
The public is hearing little about increased spending by outside groups in the 2012 election. Just 25% have heard a lot about outside spending by groups not associated with the candidates or campaigns, while three-quarters are hearing a little (36%) or nothing at all (39%) about this. In fact, the term “super PAC” itself is […]
Overview In the final two weeks of July, Americans kept a close watch on news about a deadly shooting rampage at a Colorado movie theater, but they also closely tracked news about two long-running stories – the condition of the nation’s economy and the 2012 presidential campaign. News about the shootings, which left 12 dead […]
Overview There has been no significant change in public views on the issue of gun control and gun rights following the July 20th shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Currently, 47% say it is more important to control gun ownership, while 46% say it is more important to protect the rights of Americans […]