Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Summary of Findings An overwhelming majority of the public (87%) says celebrity scandals receive too much news coverage. This criticism generally holds across most major demographic and political groups. Virtually no one thinks there is too little coverage of celebrity scandals. When asked who is most to blame for the amount of coverage these kinds […]
Summary of Findings The 2008 presidential campaign remained a top tier news story last week both in terms of coverage and public interest. The campaign has been one of the top five most covered news stories for much of the year, and public interest has remained fairly consistent. This past week, the national news media […]
Summary of Findings While the media focused intently last week on the escalating debate over U.S. policy in Iraq, the public took a typical summer hiatus from the major news stories of the week. The Iraq war, rather than the policy debate, was the news story the public focused on most closely, but even attention […]
Summary of Findings Dramatic events in London and Scotland last week attracted a large news audience. Roughly a third of the public paid very close attention to news that British police had found and defused two car bombs in London, and another 31% followed the story fairly closely. Fully 21% said this was the single […]
Summary of Findings In the first six months of 2007, the Iraq war has captivated the public’s interest and eclipsed most of the year’s other major news stories, including the 2008 presidential election, two major Washington political scandals, and news from other international trouble spots. Iraq has been the most closely followed news story in […]
America is a patriotic country. Pew’s political values surveys over the past 20 years have found overwhelming agreement with the statement “I am very patriotic.” In this year’s survey, 90% concurred, which is consistent with measures dating back to 1987. For many Americans, demonstrating patriotism means showing the flag. Overall, 62% say they display the […]