Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Publications

  • report

    Clinton Fatigue Undermines Gore Poll Standing

    Introduction and Summary Personal image problems and fallout from Clinton administration scandals are contributing to Al Gore’s declining favorability ratings and his poor showing in early horse race polls. As the vice president has inched closer to the Democratic presidential nomination, his favorability ratings have fallen and he has slipped further behind GOP frontrunner George […]

  • report

    Americans Divided on China Policy

    Introduction and Summary The public is deeply divided about the future of U.S.-China relations. Although a solid 60% majority say relations between the United States and China are stable — neither improving nor getting worse — there is little agreement over the question of whether our current handling of China is tough enough and no […]

  • report

    Striking the Balance, Audience Interests, Business Pressures and Journalists’ Values

    Introduction and Summary Journalists increasingly agree with public criticism of their profession and the quality of their work. Overwhelmingly, news media professionals say the lines have blurred between commentary and reporting and between entertainment and news. A growing number of reporters, editors and news executives also say that news reports are full of factual errors […]

  • report

    Support for NATO Air Strikes with Plenty of Buts

    Introduction and Summary Americans expressed approval of air strikes against Serbia during the first five days of the Yugoslav operation, but there are clear indications that public support for involvement there is limited. Only a minority think the situation in Kosovo is a serious problem for the United States, and there is considerable worry about […]

  • report

    Does an early lead in the polls usually hold up?

    A stream of candidate announcements and polls showing Texas Governor George W. Bush leading Vice President Al Gore have spurred interest in the 2000 presidential contest. But with the nominating conventions still more than 16 months away, what do these early polls mean for would-be nominees? A look back at nearly 40 years of early […]

  • report

    Local TV News Project 1998

    In an initiative to find the correlation between quality local television journalism and ratings PEJ brings the practice of benchmarking–identifying models of quality in an industry–to local TV news.

  • report

    Public Votes for Continuity and Change in 2000

    Introduction and Summary The anomalies of American public opinion continue even as the impeachment trial fades into history. Today, the public view of the state of the nation is much improved, despite the fact that a major component of that view — trust in government — remains low. Politically, the public expresses negative views of […]