Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
In order to understand the language and ideas used by supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage, Pew Research tracked the presence of specific arguments in news stories and commentary. Supporters largely framed the issue as a question of civil rights and equality. In the main news media studied, nearly half (49%) of the stories on […]
Most Americans say they are not personally bothered being around gays and lesbians. Currently, 82% say “it doesn’t bother them to be around homosexuals,” while 14% say it does. This is only modestly changed from a decade ago, when there was far less acceptance of homosexuality generally. In October 2003, 76% said it did not […]
About This Study A number of people at the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism worked on Pew Research’s “News Coverage Conveys Strong Momentum for Same-Sex Marriage.” Senior Researcher Paul Hitlin, Acting Director Amy Mitchell and Associate Director Mark Jurkowitz and wrote the report. Coding and data analysis were conducted by Researchers Steve […]
One key goal of this research was to identify whether or not online channels of political engagement (social networking sites in particular) may be bringing “new voices” into the political process. Accordingly, our 2012 survey included a series of questions measuring people’s political beliefs and attitudes, in an effort to determine whether different venues for […]