But What Do the Polls Show?
Perhaps the best way to think about public opinion and its relationship to politics and policymaking is that the American public is typically short on facts, but often long on judgment.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
Search results for: “citizen journalism”
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For a Change, Foreign Policy Drives the News
For one week at least, the battle over health care reform and the troubled U.S. economy faded in the news. Instead, a series of daunting overseas challenges, highlighted by a surprise announcement about Iranian nukes, drove the press narrative.
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The Current State of Civic Engagement in America
Introduction Like many technical innovations, the internet was greeted enthusiastically by those who thought it would “change everything” when it comes to democratic governance. Among its predicted salutary effects is the capacity of the internet to permit ordinary citizens to short-circuit political elites and deal directly with one another and public officials; to foster deliberation, […]
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A Celebrity Crime Case Spurs Outrage in the Blogosphere
The arrest of Roman Polanski dominated the blogosphere last week, with online commentators overwhelmingly condemning the filmmaker for the crime he committed three decades ago. And a CNN sparring match between anchor Wolf Blitzer and filmmaker Michael Moore was among the week’s most viewed YouTube news videos.
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Methodology and Acknowledgements
About the Authors Key Lehman Schlozman — Kay Lehman Schlozman serves as J.Joseph Moakley Endowed Professor of Political Science at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. She received a B.A. from Wellesley College and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She is co-author of Injury to Insult: Unemployment, Class and Political Response […]
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High-Stakes Health Care Fight Drives the News
The polarizing debate over health care policy was the No. 1 story for the second week in a row—with much of the coverage focused on the implications for Barack Obama. Meanwhile, economic news took a turn for the optimistic and the “birthers” got 15 minutes (and maybe more) in the media spotlight.
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Bloggers Focus on April Fools’ Joke, Interrogation, and an Actress
Bloggers and social media eschewed the economic crisis and European summitry last week to focus on a group of diverse topics ranging from journalism to political activism to environmentalism. Meanwhile the week’s most viewed YouTube video featured a trick shot from a basketball superstar.
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The Implications of the New Washington Media
If the press corps in Washington aimed at the American public in general is shrinking, and the one aimed at self-defined specialized groups is growing, what does that mean about the kind of monitoring of government the press engages in? And how might that change how public opinion is formed and shaped, and does that […]
