Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Main findings One of the long-running hopes of technology supporters is that the internet and cell phones will bring positive change to institutions of all kinds. This tension pair was designed to assess those hopes. While the largely pro-technology group of respondents expressed overall enthusiasm for the change they hope will come to all kinds […]
A new PEJ study investigates where news comes from in today’s rapidly changing media landscape. An examination of local media in Baltimore provides insight on how the U.S. media ecosystem works. What role do new media, blogs and specialty news sites play in the news cycle? Who is breaking news? Which reports advanced the story? The study answers these questions and more.
This week’s News Coverage Index examines the agenda in one media sector—daily newspapers. And it reveals that the unanswered questions about the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner were still dominating coverage a week after the event occurred. Meanwhile, the state of the economy was the week’s second-biggest topic.
A story about a British sex study was the No. 1 news topic in the blogosphere last week while news of an elitist dating site led on Twitter. On YouTube, a Brazilian news anchor got himself into trouble for making insulting comments he thought were private.
Social media responded strongly to the tragic earthquake that shattered Haiti last week. Beyond conveying information and first-hand accounts, Twitter became central in the effort to raise funds through text-messaging to help relief organizations. On YouTube, surveillance videos gained widespread attention.
For the second week in a row, the actions of President Obama fueled substantial coverage of the state of the U.S. economy. Toyota’s mounting problems and a controversial kidnapping case in Haiti also helped propel those subjects onto the roster of top stories.
Following an interview with one of the leading scientists in the so-called “Climate-gate” controversy, bloggers engaged in a passionate exchange over the merits of climate change science. On Twitter, an airline’s treatment of an overweight celebrity was the top story. And on YouTube, the tragic death of an Olympic luger was a leading driver of traffic.
Summary of Findings The public took a renewed interest in the war in Afghanistan last week as President Obama unveiled plans to send more troops there while vowing to start bringing them home in 2011. Still, as many people say they talked with friends about Tiger Woods’ troubles as Afghanistan. More than four-in-ten (43%) say […]
Half of U.S. adults living with chronic disease are e-patients. Looking at the population as a whole, 51% of American adults living with chronic disease have looked online for any of the health topics we ask about, such as information about a specific disease, a certain medical procedure, prescription or over-the-counter drugs, or health insurance. […]