Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Today, what Americans know may differ greatly depending on their source of news. In the second part of the study, looking at a broader universe of the news media in the fall of 1997, we also found different kinds of news media offering markedly different definitions of news depending on what they perceived their market […]
In all, 21% of the reporting was based on anonymous sources. Given the nature of a story involving a grand jury and an ongoing investigation, that may not be so surprising, and some of this reportage three weeks later holds up well. In general, however, the track record of stories with multiple anonymous sources appeared […]
Survey Findings On October 27, the day the stock market plunged more than 550 points, worried Americans turned to new media sources for instant information. Many of those who followed the story “very” closely tracked news of the sell-off either on cable television or over the Internet — news outlets that were not factors in […]
Clinton and Congressional Ratings Unchanged President Clinton’s approval ratings remain high and Americans credit Congress for its accomplishments this year, despite the failure of campaign finance and “fast track” trade legislation in the weeks leading up to the congressional adjournment. Nearly one in four Americans say this Congress has accomplished more than other recent Congresses, […]
Survey Findings In an era in which virtually all Americans share very few things, the story of Princess Diana’s death captivated the nation. Nearly nine in ten Americans paid attention to news of the tragedy and more than half (54%) followed the tragedy very closely. No other story this year has come close. Modern communications […]
Survey Findings Pew’s latest News Interest Index finds that a little bit of news about Medicare reform travels a long way, while a lot of news about tax relief is mostly greeted with shrugs and disbelief. Fewer than four in ten Americans (38%) paid close attention to the ongoing Washington debate about how to cut […]
Survey Findings An analysis of public attentiveness to more than 500 news stories over the last ten years confirms that the American public pays relatively little attention to many of the serious news stories of the day. The major exceptions to this rule are stories dealing with natural and man-made disasters and U.S. military actions. […]
Not Much Going On… The public is unimpressed with the performance of the 105th Congress thus far. When asked to name the most important thing that has happened in the new Congress so far this year, fully 72% could not cite a single item. Those who responded gave a random assortment of legislative initiatives, led […]
Introduction and Summary The numbers are still modest but the Internet is beginning to play a role in the news habits of a significant number of American consumers. Over one-in-five Americans now go online — either at home, work or school. Nearly three-fourths of this group sometimes get news from the World Wide Web or […]
Dole’s Door Still Open? Clinton’s consistent margin over Dole and Perot notwithstanding, respondents in the Pew Research Center survey gave answers to a number of questions that indicate the potential for a closer contest. Only a minority of voters said they were strong supporters of either of the candidates — 20% for Clinton and 11% […]