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News Habits & Media

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News Media Tracker

Americans now navigate a quickly changing information environment, with a wide variety of news sources across many different platforms and channels. Explore data on how Americans use, trust and distrust 30 major news sources with our interactive tool.

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News Habits & Media

Publications

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    Is The Fairness Doctrine Fair Game?

    It’s been off the books since the FCC repealed it two decades ago. But an old rule regulating content on the airwaves has suddenly become a topic on Capitol Hill and on the talk radio circuit. Is the Fairness Doctrine really headed for a comeback?

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    Election 2008

    The presidential hopefuls are using their web sites for unprecedented two-way communication with citizens. But what are voters learning here? Is it more than a way to bypass the media? A new PEJ study of 19 campaign sites finds Democrats are more interactive, Republicans are more likely to talk about “values,” and neither wants to talk about ideology.

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    British Car Bombs Top News Interest

    Summary of Findings Dramatic events in London and Scotland last week attracted a large news audience. Roughly a third of the public paid very close attention to news that British police had found and defused two car bombs in London, and another 31% followed the story fairly closely. Fully 21% said this was the single […]

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    Iraq Dominates News Landscape in First Six Months of 2007

    Summary of Findings In the first six months of 2007, the Iraq war has captivated the public’s interest and eclipsed most of the year’s other major news stories, including the 2008 presidential election, two major Washington political scandals, and news from other international trouble spots. Iraq has been the most closely followed news story in […]

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    A Media Mystery

    The 30,000 employees of Private Security Companies currently operating inside Iraq represent a new element in modern-day warfare. They are armed, suffer casualties, are paid by the U.S. government, and perform tasks once done by the nation’s military. But a new study by PEJ reveals that for the most part, these forces have operated below the media radar.

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    Why Change the Channel?

    Summary of Findings In spite of their general criticisms of the media, Americans have good things to say about the major broadcast and cable news networks. The public draws few distinctions among the news divisions of the big three broadcast networks. There is much less consensus about the major cable news networks. Nearly half of […]

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    Public Wants to Know More about Darfur and Many Favor U.S. Involvement

    As world leaders gather in Germany for the annual G-8 meeting, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur will be high on their agenda. Pew’s latest surveys find nearly half of Americans believing the United States has a moral obligation to do something about the ethnic genocide there, and a modest plurality thinking the U.S. should send troops.

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    Public Wants to Know More about Darfur and Many Favor U.S. Involvement

    As world leaders gather in Germany for the annual G-8 meeting, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur will be high on their agenda. Pew’s latest surveys find nearly half of Americans believing the United States has a moral obligation to do something about the ethnic genocide there, and a modest plurality thinking the U.S. should send […]

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    Down For The Count

    For years, magazine watchers relied on monthly advertising reports known as "PIBs" to gauge the health of the industry. Recently, the "PIBs" were cut back from 12 a year to only four. A magazine trade organization says that’s an attempt to provide more meaningful data, but analysts suggest it’s also a reflection of tough economic times.

Signature Reports

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Pew Research Center illustration for America's News Influencers report; photos via Getty Images

America’s News Influencers

This study explores the makeup of the social media news influencer universe, including who they are, what content they create and who their audiences are.

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