Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The online community focused on two primary subjects last week – the passing of singer Michael Jackson and the continuing unrest in Iran. The reaction to the King of Pop’s death, along with stunning video of an Iranian woman referred to as “Neda,” demonstrated again not only the power of social media but the range of its use.
The economy, a hate crime, health care and Detroit’s problems all competed for attention in last week’s news landscape. But a presidential vote in Iran commanded much of the late-week coverage, as the press focused on a nation it often tends to ignore.
Even by midweek, the media had begun to shift focus from protests in Iran to a political sex scandal in South Carolina. But all that was before the death of the best-selling recording artist whose troubled life and pioneering music made him an icon. By the time the week ended, focus on Michael Jackson’s passing overwhelmed all other media stories.
Summary of Findings The public closely tracked the sudden death of pop superstar Michael Jackson last week, though nearly two-in-three Americans say news organizations gave too much coverage to the story. At the same time, half say the media struck the right balance between reporting on Jackson’s musical legacy and the problems in his personal […]
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.