Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Publications

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    Public Sees Budget Negotiations as “Ridiculous”, “Disgusting”, “Stupid”

    From liberal Democrats to Tea Party Republicans, there is broad public consensus that the budget negotiations of recent weeks can be summed up in words such as ridiculous, disgusting, stupid, and frustrating. Nationwide, 72% describe the recent negotiations in negative terms such as these; while very few offer a positive (2%), or even neutral (11%), […]

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    Debt Drama Drives Economic Coverage to Near Record High

    After building for more than a month, the Beltway Battle over the debt ceiling exploded as a story last week, accounting for more than half of the newshole. No other story even generated double digit coverage in a week dominated by a single subject.

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    Obama Loses Ground in 2012 Reelection Bid

    Overview The sizeable lead Barack Obama held over a generic Republican opponent in polls conducted earlier this year has vanished as his support among independent voters has fallen off.Currently, 41% of registered voters say they would like to see Barack Obama reelected, while 40% say they would prefer to see a Republican candidate win in […]

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    Bloggers Assess Motives of the Norway Attacker

    The multiple attacks that struck Norway echoed throughout social media last week. This special edition of PEJ’s New Media Index is an in-depth look at the complex conversation on blogs, where the ideological views of the assailant, Anders Behring Breivik, became a significant point of discussion.

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    Debt Stalemate Top Story, But No Surge in Public Interest

    Overview With a deadline fast approaching and talk of serious economic consequences without congressional action, the standoff in Washington over raising the debt limit was the top story last week for both the public and the news media. Yet public interest in the federal budget deficit and national debt is not much higher than it […]