Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
John McCain and Hillary Clinton were reduced to relative obscurity last week. The media’s presidential campaign narrative instead focused on one overarching issue: could Barack Obama handle the controversy over his pastor’s racially inflammatory remarks?
In a week in which the campaign overwhelmingly dominated the talk airwaves, the hottest issue was Obama’s speech aimed at dampening the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy. In the talk show universe, the response was impassioned, but the verdict was far from unanimous.
When it came to coverage, John McCain was a forgotten man compared with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But perhaps no news was good news for the GOP in a week during which the press highlighted some of the uglier divisions among Democrats.
Negative Views of the US More Common Than Negative Views of China
The Project for Excellence in Journalism did not issue a News Index report this week, but the data is available.
Summary of Findings Public views of the U.S. economy, already quite negative, have plummeted since January. Just 17% currently rate the nation’s economy as excellent or good, down from 26% last month. The percentage of Americans rating the economy as “poor” has increased even more dramatically, from 28% to 45% in one month. Moreover, there […]
By generating more coverage than any other candidate last week, and easily outdistancing his GOP rivals, Senator John McCain rode a media narrative of near inevitability last week. Plus, Senator Ted Kennedy becomes a major newsmaker.
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has collected a variety of resources on Pope Benedict XVI’s views on public policy issues. The resources include links to his homilies and other writings on such issues as social justice, the participation of Catholics in political life, proposals to give legal recognition to same-sex unions, and […]