Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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The discovery of a giant rat species in Papua New Guinea and the shout of a Congressman during Obama’s health care speech led the blogs last week. Twitter, on the other hand, proved to be ever more self-absorbed. And on YouTube, it was still health care, albeit in a more civil tone.
Bloggers, even more so than the mainstream press, dedicated the week to the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy. Twitter users linked to Kennedy as well, but were more caught up in new legislation that could affect their online activities. And according to YouTube clicks, health care town halls still make for good viewing.
A dovish article by a conservative columnist triggered a heated blogger’s debate over Afghanistan last week while the major topics on Twitter were all related to technology. On YouTube, health care protests continue to make for popular viewing, though not quite as popular as a dancing school teacher.
As the political battles over health care reform intensify, religious organizations are forcefully adding their voices to the debate. They have launched media campaigns both for and against the proposals under consideration by the U.S. Congress, appealing to millions of Americans through national radio and television ads, Internet webcasts, conference calls, petitions, prayer vigils and […]
The internet is not changing the basic socio-economic character of Americans’ civic engagement. The well off and well educated dominate online civic activities such as emailing officials, making donations, or signing online petitions just as those…
Overview The public’s assessment of the accuracy of news stories is now at its lowest level in more than two decades of Pew Research surveys, and Americans’ views of media bias and independence now match previous lows. Just 29% of Americans say that news organizations generally get the facts straight, while 63% say that news […]
The evangelical Christian movement historically has been defined by its members’ distinctive doctrinal standards and practices. Yet in recent years many Americans have come to understand evangelicals more by their political, rather than religious, identity. The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life invited Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, […]
Health care or zombies and cocaine? In the debate over which is better fodder for discussion, social media last week chose the latter pair—a simulation of a worldwide zombie attack and traces of cocaine on much of the U.S. currency. On YouTube, though, confrontations from the health care town hall meetings captured the most eyeballs.