Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

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Politics

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    Interest In Oil Spill Stays High As Coverage Grows

    Summary of Findings As efforts to stop a major underwater oil leak faltered and President Obama traveled to Louisiana to assess the early damage, the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico grabbed public attention and dominated media coverage last week. More than half of Americans (55%) say they followed news about the oil leak very […]

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    Seniors are Strongest Advocates for Change in 2010

    Older Americans have a more negative view of incumbents, are more likely to vote for a candidate with no elective experience and less likely to support those who compromise than are Americans younger than age 65.

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    Public, Media Track Oil Spill, Diverge On Elections

    Summary of Findings Americans stayed focused on the unfolding oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last week, while the effort to cap the underwater well and limit the damage was one of two stories that dominated media coverage. The media devoted comparable levels of coverage to the spill and news about last week’s primaries […]

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    Willingness to Compromise a Plus in Midterms

    Overview Many Americans say they will look less favorably this fall at congressional candidates who supported the federal bailout of major banks and financial institutions in response to the 2008 financial crisis. About half (49%) say they are less likely to vote for a candidate who supported the major government loans to banks; 14% say […]

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    Assessing the Cell Phone Challenge

    With fully a quarter of the U.S. adult population now relying solely on cell phone service, pollsters and other survey researchers face a difficult decision as to whether to include cell phones in their samples. A joint study by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Internet & American Life Project takes an up-to-date look at the potential biases in findings based on landline-only surveys.

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    Gulf Oil Leak Dominates Public’s News Interests

    Summary of Findings As oil from an undersea well continued to flow into the Gulf of Mexico last week, Americans tracked the worsening environmental disaster much more closely than any other major news story. About half (49%) say this was the story they followed most closely. Press coverage was divided between the oil leak (17% […]

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    Public’s Priorities, Financial Regs

    Overview The public views tougher regulations on financial institutions as an important priority for Congress, but far more want Congress to take action on the job situation and energy policy. In thinking about financial regulation, as many say they worry that the government will go too far in regulating financial markets, making it harder for […]

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    Public Tracks Oil Spill, Media Focuses More On Times Square

    Summary of Findings Americans tracked the worsening oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico more closely than other major news stories last week, while the media focused on both the underwater oil leak and the investigation into the attempted car bombing in New York’s Times Square. A third of the public (33%) says they most […]