Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Summary of Findings The public and the news media divided their attention last week among the top international stories, harsh winter weather, politics and the ongoing saga surrounding the death of Anna Nicole Smith. The Iraq war remained the No. 1 story both in terms of public interest and news coverage, however, the public hung […]
On her February 16 CNN show, Paula Zahn called the Smith case “America’s newest guilty pleasure” and accused the public of being less than candid about its level of interest. Brandishing a CNN online poll showing that 71% of the respondents said they were not interested in the Smith situation, Zahn responded: “Don’t bother denying […]
Even in a week with North Korea, Iran, Anna Nicole, and Hillary on the front burner, it’s U.S. strategy in the Iraq war that commands the talk airwaves. And the dominance of that debate reveals something about the nature of the talk show culture.
Summary of Findings Public support for the war in Iraq continues to decline, as a growing number of political independents are turning against the war. Overall, a 53% majority of Americans believe the U.S. should bring its troops home as soon as possible – up five points in the past month and the highest percentage […]
Remarks of Andrew Kohut to the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight
Summary of Findings Anna Nicole Smith’s death and the bizarre aftermath continue to fascinate a significant segment of the American public and the mainstream media. During the second full week of coverage of the story, interest remained steady and coverage actually increased – as portions of the legal proceedings concerning her body were carried live […]
More so than any time this year, no single story dominated the news last week. But a number of sudden events and slowly developing subjects found their way into the headlines. Anna Nicole Smith faded, Al Gore re-emerged, and Bob Woodruff came back home to ABC.
The nation’s radio and cable talk shows can’t resist talking about the blockbuster hot button issues like Iraq and the presidential campaign. But on subjects ranging from global warming and tensions with Iran to the Scooter Libby trial and the death of Molly Ivins, the talk conversation is very much shaped by the hosts’ own agendas.
The endless parade of Anna Nicole Smith legal proceedings was still a source of fascination for the cable talk hosts last week. But their radio counterparts opted for another favored subject—and it was open season on the 2008 campaign season.