Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The Shirley Sherrod saga started with a video posted online and ended with a flurry of finger pointing. In a special report, PEJ reconstructs a chronology of how the story reverberated around the media echo chamber before dramatically changing course. And this week’s News Coverage Index finds that the tale of the USDA employee prematurely forced out of her job was the No. 2 story in the news agenda.
We also asked about the way in which online content is managed and distributed. The news organizations are experimenting with new modes of delivery and display, but overall the survey results suggest they remain fairly traditional in their approach to the Web. Even as consumers are increasingly following individual stories of their own—accessing stories through […]
Civil liberties were the hot topics across social media last week. Bloggers debated the Supreme Court decision on gun ownership and Finland’s law making Internet access a legal right. Twitter drew attention to the discovery of a privacy leak on the website Foursquare. On YouTube, a video purportedly showing oily rain in the Gulf region led to controversy.
Summary of Findings The public and the media focused on economic issues last week, with 24% of Americans saying they followed news about the economy more closely than other major stories. Another 9% say they followed news about proposals for stricter regulation of banks and financial institutions most closely. Americans also continued to closely track […]
The controversy surrounding General McChrystal – and especially Obama’s role in the matter – commanded attention on blogs and Twitter last week. Twitter users also shared news of a landmark copyright ruling portrayed as a victory for online freedom. And on YouTube, a clip of a dancing baby led to a vibrant conversation over authenticity.
Summary of Findings Americans tracked the worsening oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico more closely than other major news stories last week, while the media focused on both the underwater oil leak and the investigation into the attempted car bombing in New York’s Times Square. A third of the public (33%) says they most […]
The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico became a hot topic in blogs and on Twitter last week, with the discussion focused on a range of storylines. At the same time, two subjects that had generated little attention in recent weeks—the economy and the war in Afghanistan—also drew significant interest. On YouTube, a Congressman’s angry response to being filmed drew almost 2.5 million views.