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short readsJul 24, 2013

Obama returns focus to America’s struggling middle class

As President Obama prepares to make a “major” speech on the economy today, our past reports describe the challenges the middle class has faced in the past decades.
reportJul 22, 2013

Big Racial Divide over Zimmerman Verdict

Overview The public is divided over the not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial and over the conversation about race that has surrounded it. The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted July 17-21 among 1,480 adults nationwide finds roughly as many satisfied with the verdict in the case (39%) as dissatisfied […]
short readsJul 22, 2013

The public’s predictions on immigration, gun control bills this year

There’s a pretty good chance that immigration legislation will become law this year. The prospects for enacting a gun control bill are not nearly as promising, according to the American public.
short readsJul 19, 2013

Japan elections come amid shifting attitudes on country’s military posture

Elections in Japan on July 21 to choose half of the members of the the upper house of Japan’s Diet may be a referendum on changing constitutional limits on the country’s military posture.
short readsJul 18, 2013

5 facts about ethnic and gender diversity in U.S. newsrooms

Last week, San Francisco Bay area television station KTVU broadcast fake names for the pilots of the Asiana Airline flight that crashed on July 6. The error involved ethnic stereotyping, leading the Asian American Journalists Association to assert that these kinds of mistakes “underscored the importance of newsroom diversity” at America’s media outlets. A similar […]
reportJul 17, 2013

Fewer See Events in Egypt as Critical to U.S. Interests

Overview Public interest in news from Egypt has plummeted since the early weeks of the Arab Spring in February 2011. And the share of Americans saying what happens in Egypt is “very important” to U.S. interests has fallen by 10 points – from 46% to 36% – since then. The survey by the Pew Research […]
short readsJul 16, 2013

Mexican public favors military use, U.S. aid to fight drug cartels

On Monday, the Mexican military captured Miguel Angel Treviño Morales, leader of the Zetas, one of the major Mexican drug cartels. Treviño Morales is wanted in Mexico and the United States for charges of drug trafficking, murder, torture, kidnapping and extortion, among other crimes. Mexican armed forces made the arrest early Monday morning after a […]
reportJul 15, 2013

Modest Public Interest in Close of Zimmerman Trial

Overview The final days of the trial of George Zimmerman, which concluded July 13 with a verdict of not guilty, attracted relatively modest public interest overall. In a weekend survey, 26% say they were following news about the trial very closely. This is lower than interest in the initial controversy over Trayvon Martin’s shooting when […]
reportJul 11, 2013

Japanese Public’s Mood Rebounding, Abe Highly Popular

Survey Report After more than two decades of economic turmoil and political transition in Japan, the public’s mood is showing some decided improvement. Japan now has a strongly popular political leadership, and there are indications of a growing Japanese aspiration to play a larger security role on the world stage. Public satisfaction with Japan’s direction […]
reportJul 11, 2013

Public Esteem for Military Still High

More than three-quarters of Americans continue to believe that members of the military contribute “a lot” to society’s well-being. By contrast, only 37% say clergy make a big contribution to society, and journalists have dropped the most in public esteem since 2009.