Science News and Information Today
Overall, 36% of Americans get science news at least a few times a week and three-in-ten actively seek it. Most get science news from general news outlets, but more see specialty sources as being accurate.
News of scientists’ plans to more actively warn of global warming dangers generated a big response from bloggers last week. And on YouTube, the continuing Philip DeFranco phenomenon illustrates the online platform’s power to turn regular folks into video stars.
After several weeks of decreasing coverage, the Gulf oil saga spiked upward last week amid news of possible success in stopping the flow. Coverage of a bill to regulate the financial sector, infighting among Democrats, violence and progress in Afghanistan and the death of a baseball mogul rounded out the roster of top stories.
The economy and health care continued to lead the news last week as they have so often in recent months. But global warming, thanks in part to a controversy over emails, received a record level of coverage.
A vote in Switzerland to ban the construction of Muslim minarets and controversies over global warming research led conversations in the blogosphere last week. On Twitter, it was a story about a local billboard campaign with unintended consequences. And on YouTube, a pop singer made her second appearance in recent weeks.
Last week, bloggers gave more attention to the subject of global warming than at any time this year. And while skeptics continued to focus on “Climate-gate,” defenders were more vocal than in previous weeks. On Twitter, the growing Tiger Woods scandal earned the most attention. And on YouTube, a feisty exchange between the White House press secretary and a reporter was the most viewed news video.
Two subjects that didn’t generate much attention in the mainstream press last week remained hot topics in social media. The saga of six-year-old Falcon Heene and the phony balloon flight continued to provoke outrage in the blogosphere while a warning from the British Prime Minister triggered another debate over global warming.
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