Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
While the mainstream press focused on the health care battle last week, the online conversation centered on sobering survey results for President Obama. Bloggers also jumped into the racially charged “Skip” Gates case. Iran was again the hot Twitter topic and a confrontation between David Beckham and angry soccer fans led on YouTube.
Summary of Findings The dramatic events in Iran last week captured the attention of both the public and the media as Americans tracked news about post-election protests in Tehran nearly as closely as they followed news about the troubled U.S. economy. Two-in-ten say they followed news about the street protests over disputed election results – […]
Summary of Findings From January through May, a growing proportion of Americans said they were hearing a mix of good and bad news about the economy. More recently, however, there has been a steady increase in the share saying that the economic news is mostly bad. Currently, 41% say they are hearing mostly bad news […]
Several big events vied for the attention of the media last week. But for the second time in two months, a major overseas presidential foray topped the news agenda when it demonstrated Barack Obama’s dramatically different approach to foreign policy.
The media geared up for fireworks and drama when senators questioned Barack Obama’s first Supreme Court nominee. But the narrative turned out very differently. And coverage of the economic crisis seems stuck in a predictable pattern.
In a week that exposed dramatically different news agendas between social and mainstream media, online commentators shifted away from the King of Pop to focus on a 30-year-old technological breakthrough and the death of an offbeat TV celebrity. The most viewed YouTube video captured an impromptu cell phone snafu.
There were major events at home and abroad last week. But the media spotlight remained on the “King of Pop” as the story expanded from recollections of his career and tributes from his fans to a series of medical, legal and possibly even criminal issues.
Summary of Findings Americans by a wide margin say they are hearing mostly negative news about the nation’s job situation, though they are more likely to sense a mix of good and bad news about other elements of the economy. With the jobless rate climbing, seven-in-ten (71%) say they are hearing mostly bad news about […]
Summary of Findings Americans followed reports about the U.S. economy more closely than other major stories last week as President Obama pushed for new restrictions on the credit card industry and automakers announced plans to cut ties with some 1,900 dealerships nationwide. More than four-in-ten (44%) say they followed economic news very closely, according to […]
In the last several weeks, terrorism has topped the news agenda more often than the economic crisis. As last week’s dueling Cheney-Obama speeches showed, that’s what happens when a hot-button topic becomes the Beltway’s primary political fault line.