Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Coverage of the debate over health care policy increased dramatically, dominating the news agenda last week. But with contentious shouting matches and overheated rhetoric driving the narrative, America’s news consumers may have gotten more heat than light.
Bloggers last week debated whether the worldwide swine flu outbreak was a serious public health menace or a case of excessive media hype. And Arlen Specter’s change of parties stirred a partisan debate over the state of the GOP.
The passing of the last of the fabled Kennedy brothers easily led last week’s news agenda and generated a host of storylines. And for the first time in more than a month, the fractious health care debate was relegated to the sidelines.
As usual, there are more readers and listeners than writers and creators. Health care, including online health research, is a social activity. Since 2002, Pew Internet Project surveys consistently find that about half of online health inquiries are on behalf of someone else, be it a family member, friend, or someone else. In addition, two-thirds […]
Americans are tapping into a widening network of both online and offline sources. The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project conducts ongoing surveys about the social impact of the internet, including its effect on health and health care. Starting in 2000 with the findings of “The Online Health Care Revolution” and continuing over […]
Two hot button issues, torture and same-sex marriage, were the leading subjects sparking conversation online last week.
Even as many observers predicted Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor would win confirmation, the first days of coverage were defined by harsh rhetoric and ideological combat. It was another example of the media’s enduring affinity for the conflict frame of 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, […]