Americans’ Views of Government: Decades of Distrust, Enduring Support for Its Role
65% say most political candidates run for office “to serve their own personal interests.”
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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In some states, students account for a large and growing share of statehouse reporters
In Missouri, 51% of all reporters covering the state capitol this year – 26 of 51 – are students.
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Nonprofit news outlets are playing a growing role in statehouse coverage
Nonprofit news reporters now account for 20% of the nation’s total statehouse press corps, up from 6% eight years ago.
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Total Number of U.S. Statehouse Reporters Rises, but Fewer Are on the Beat Full Time
The total number of journalists assigned to state capitol buildings is up 11% since 2014, though figures vary widely by state. And as newspapers employ fewer statehouse reporters, nonprofits are filling much of the void.
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The number of full-time statehouse reporters at U.S. newspapers has declined 34% since 2014
There are 245 newspaper reporters who cover the statehouse full time in 2022 in the United States, down from 374 in 2014.
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Increasing Public Criticism, Confusion Over COVID-19 Response in U.S.
Americans are increasingly critical of the response to COVID-19 from elected officeholders and public health officials. Positive ratings of public health officials, such as those at the CDC, have fallen 10 points since August. And 60% of U.S. adults say they’ve felt confused as a result of changes to recommendations on how to slow the spread of COVID-19.
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Americans Are Less Likely Than Before COVID-19 To Want To Live in Cities, More Likely To Prefer Suburbs
Nearly half of U.S. adults say the pandemic has driven people in their community apart. Many see a long road to recovery: About one-in-five say life in their community will never get back to the way it was before COVID-19.
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States have mandated vaccinations since long before COVID-19
Republican- and Democratic-led states alike already require hundreds of thousands of citizens to be vaccinated against various diseases.
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With his resignation, New York’s Cuomo joins small group of U.S. governors forced out against their will
Only 21 of the nearly 2,400 people who have served as a state governor since U.S. independence have resigned under pressure.
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More U.S. locations experimenting with alternative voting systems
We identified 261 U.S. jurisdictions that have adopted some voting method other than the winner-take-all system most American voters know.
