Tracking the Economic Slowdown
The story of the troubled U.S. economy has proven a hard one for journalists to tell. How have the media covered the slump? How timely was the reporting? Did the media influence public attitudes?
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The story of the troubled U.S. economy has proven a hard one for journalists to tell. How have the media covered the slump? How timely was the reporting? Did the media influence public attitudes?
There is a little doubt that American newspapers are cutting back. Well over half (59%) of the 259 newspapers participating in the survey have reduced full-time newsroom staff over the past three years, mainly because of financial pressures. Roughly the same number (61%) also reported a decrease in their overall newshole—the physical space in the […]
The explosion of readily available news and information on the web has, at least in part, eclipsed the long-held role of daily newspapers to deliver the news, but has yet to touch their unique contribution to the American democratic process: the ability to explore in depth highly complex subjects of public interest. As a rule, […]
Summary of Findings The China Olympics are catching on with the American public and attracting a sizeable news audience. A majority of Americans say they are watching at least some of the Olympic coverage. Public interest in the Beijing games is comparable to that of the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney; yet substantially lower than […]
Summary of Findings Interest in the presidential election surged last week, with the public following campaign news more closely than at any point since the Super Tuesday primaries in February. As attention to the campaign has increased, the images of both Barack Obama and John McCain have improved in recent days. In a survey conducted […]
Summary of Findings Sarah Palin continued to be a dominant factor in presidential campaign coverage last week, but her impact on the race remains unclear and her public image is very much in flux. Palin clearly has boosted John McCain’s visibility. From mid-June through the last week of August, Barack Obama consistently led McCain as […]