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In a week when voters went to the polls in 12 states and worries about the federal budget deficit grew, it was the spill of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico that really captured the media’s attention—again. For the third week in a row, the growing disaster accounted for at least one-third of the newshole as finger-pointing became a larger aspect of the coverage.
With the oil still gushing, BP making new efforts to stanch the spill and the Obama Administration taking a more aggressive line toward the energy company, the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico accounted for a third of last week’s news coverage. No other story came close although a deadly encounter on a boat headed for the Gaza Strip finished as the No. 2 subject.
The Democratic Party made a concerted effort to court religious voters in the 2008 presidential election that pitted Democrat Barack Obama against Republican John McCain.1 Led by Obama himself and aided by progressive religious activists, the Democrats reached out to numerous religious groups in hopes of narrowing the “God gap,” a media catchphrase for a […]
While the recent British balloting may have been confusing for many news consumers, bloggers eagerly dissected the results, devoting as much time to the election as any story so far in 2010. On YouTube, the top video, of a controversial police raid, was viewed 1.2 million times.
Public trust in the federal government in Washington is at one of its lowest levels in half a century. Just 22% of Americans say they trust the government to do what is right “just about always” (3%) or “most of the time” (19%). The current level of skepticism was matched previously only in the periods […]
Overview With four months to go before Election Day, voting intentions for the House remain closely divided, and neither party has gained or lost much ground over the course of 2010. However, Republicans are much more engaged in the coming election and more inclined to say they are certain to vote than are Democrats. This […]
The Pew Forum’s Alan Cooperman and Greg Smith, along with Boston University professor and author Stephen Prothero and Krista Tippett of American Public Media, explore key findings from a new Pew Forum survey on how much Americans know about religion as part of a panel discussion at a national symposium on religious literacy in Washington, […]
Coverage of the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico edged out gloomy economic news and the mostly routine Elena Kagan confirmation hearings last week. But even as it regained the top spot after a one-week hiatus, there is evidence of diminishing media interest in the BP spill saga.