Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Politics

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    9/11 Commission has Bipartisan Support

    Summary of Findings The public broadly approves of the performance of the 9/11 commission in investigating the events that led to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. By more than two-to-one (61%- 24%), Americans approve of the job being done by the commission, which is expected to release its final […]

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    Voters More Engaged, But Campaign Gets Lukewarm Ratings

    Summary of Findings The presidential election is capturing the public’s attention much more now than it did at this point four and eight years ago. Nearly half of Americans (47%) say they are more interested in politics than they were four years ago, up from 38% who expressed that view in June 2000. Public attention […]

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    Swing Vote Smaller Than Usual, But Still Sizable

    Summary of Findings There are considerably fewer swing voters now than at this point in the previous three presidential campaigns. But the swing vote, while smaller in relative terms, is still substantial and certainly large enough for a presidential candidate to win a big victory. Pew’s most recent survey, conducted June 3-13, finds 21% of […]

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    Public Support for War Resilient

    Summary of Findings Americans are paying markedly less attention to Iraq than in the last two months. At the same time, their opinions about the war have become more positive. The number of Americans who think the U.S. military effort is going well has jumped from 46% in May to 57%, despite ongoing violence in […]

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    News Audiences Increasingly Politicized

    Overview Despite tumultuous events abroad, the public’s news habits have been relatively stable over the past two years. Yet modest growth has continued in two important areas online news and cable news. Regarding the latter, the expanding audience for the Fox News Channel stands out. Since 2000, the number of Americans who regularly watch Fox […]

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    Bottom-Line Pressures Now Hurting Coverage, Say Journalists

    Overview This report is part of State of the News Media 2004, a annual publication of the Project for Excellence in Journalism. Journalists are unhappy with the way things are going in their profession these days. Many give poor grades to the coverage offered by the types of media that serve most Americans: daily newspapers, […]