report | Aug 23, 2011

Troubled Economy Top Story for Public and Media

Overview Americans focused most closely last week on news about the nation’s troubled economy amid concerns about the stalled recovery and fears of a possible new recession. About four-in-ten (42%) say they followed reports about the condition of the U.S. economy more closely than any other news. That is three times the number saying their […]

report | Aug 21, 2011

Barack Obama and Rick Perry Drive the Week’s News

The economy remained the No. 1 story for the ninth consecutive week while the 2012 presidential race continued its recent spike in coverage last week. And dramatic developments regarding Syria and Libya drove Mideast coverage to its highest level in nearly three months.

report | Aug 17, 2011

Deadly Afghanistan Crash Tops Public’s News Interest

Overview News about the crash of a military helicopter in Afghanistan that killed 30 Americans last week refocused public attention on the long-running war there. About a quarter of the public (27%) says they followed news about the troop deaths in Afghanistan – which included members of the elite force that killed Osama bin Laden […]

report | Aug 14, 2011

Economy Coverage Down But Still Top Story

Economic coverage once again dominated the news last week, and this time the focus was on the volatility of the stock market. And with Iowa in the spotlight, the 2012 presidential election re-emerged in the media narrative after several weeks of being buried by bad economic news.

report | Aug 11, 2011

Social Media Users Blast the Debt Deal

The deal to raise the debt ceiling in Washington drew harsh criticism from both the left and the right last week as the subject received significant attention on blogs, Twitter and YouTube. The other subject to generate substantial interest on both blogs and Twitter was news about a teen pop star.

report | Aug 10, 2011

Number Hearing Mostly Bad Economic News Soars

Overview Negative views of economic news have risen sharply since last month and now stand at their highest level in well more than two years. Fully 67% say they are hearing “mostly bad” news about the economy, up 18 points in the last month alone and more than 40 points since the start of 2011. […]

report | Aug 6, 2011

Grim Headlines and an Angry Public Drive Economic Coverage

The long-awaited debt ceiling deal in Washington triggered a torrent of overwhelmingly negative economic coverage that easily proved to be the dominant story of the week. And two major newsmakers earlier in the year, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifffords, re-emerged in the headlines last week.

report | Aug 4, 2011

Bloggers Weigh in on the Tea Party

A comparison between the Tea Party and characters in the Lord of the Rings trilogy generated a lively debate on the blogosphere last week. Twitter users complained about Formula 1auto racing. And the most viewed videos on YouTube depicted the carnage from the July 22 attacks in Norway.

report | Aug 2, 2011

Attention to Debt Debate Grew Steadily in July

Overview The tense negotiations in Washington over legislation to cut the federal deficit and raise the nation’s debt limit topped the public’s news interest and the media’s coverage for the third consecutive week. Four-in-ten (40%) say they followed news about the debt debate more closely than any other news last week, while the fight’s various […]

report | Jul 30, 2011

Debt Drama Drives Economic Coverage to Near Record High

After building for more than a month, the Beltway Battle over the debt ceiling exploded as a story last week, accounting for more than half of the newshole. No other story even generated double digit coverage in a week dominated by a single subject.

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