Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Bloggers last week returned to two issues that generated interest in recent weeks. For the second time in a month, Afghanistan led the news in the blogosphere. And musician Dave Matthews sparked a second round of heated online debate with some comments about racism. On Twitter, for this week at least, the focus moved beyond Twitter itself.
Summary of Findings The public sharpened its focus on health care reform last week, following news about the debate in Washington more closely than any other story. Interest in health care reform has steadily increased in recent weeks as coverage – including a prime-time presidential news conference – has intensified. Nearly a third (31%) name […]
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.
A discussion that revolved around the critics of Barack Obama and his policies dominated the blogosphere last week—with the Tea Party protests and Jimmy Carter’s remarks about race as the main catalyst. On YouTube, an exhibition of public rudeness was the most viewed video.
Thanks to speculation about Barack Obama’s crucial September 9 speech, the health care debate was, once again, the week’s leading story. But press attention more generally was split among a series of significant events, both at home and abroad.
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 […]
Overview With the economy wreaking havoc on state budgets, the favorability ratings of state governments have declined from a year ago. Overall, 50% of the public now holds a favorable opinion of their state government, down from 59% in April 2008. The falloff in positive views has been greater in states with large and moderate […]