Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

News Media Trends


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    Primary Fight and Obama Speech Top News Interest

    Overview In the days before Tuesday’s hard-fought Florida primary and just after the president’s State of the Union address, political stories topped the public’s news interest. About two-in-ten (22%) say they followed news about candidates for the 2012 presidential elections more closely than any other news last week. About as many (18%) say their top […]

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    Cruise Ship Accident, Election Top Public’s Interest

    Overview The deadly crash of a cruise ship off of the coast of Italy and the latest developments in the 2012 presidential campaign topped the public’s news interests last week. About a quarter (26%) say they followed news about the cruise ship accident more closely than any other news. A comparable percentage (23%) say they […]

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    Campaign 2012: Too Negative, Too Long, Dull

    Overview As the Republican candidates battle for the chance to challenge Barack Obama in November, many Americans are highly critical of the presidential campaign. Half (50%) say the campaign has been too negative. By comparison, four years ago, amidst primary fights in both parties, just 28% said the campaign at that point was too negative. […]

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    Perceptions of Economic News Continue to Improve

    Overview The number of Americans hearing mostly bad news about the nation’s economy continues to decline. Three-in-ten (30%) now say they are hearing mostly bad economic news, less than half the number that said this in early August (67%). The percentage saying they are hearing a mix of good and bad news about the economy […]

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    About the News Interest Index

    The News Interest Index is a weekly survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press aimed at gauging the public’s interest in and reaction to major news events. This project has been undertaken in conjunction with the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s News Coverage Index, an ongoing content analysis of […]

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    2011: A Year of Big Stories Both Foreign and Domestic

    Overview The threat of nuclear disaster in Japan and the killing of Osama bin Laden by Navy SEALs were two of the breaking news stories that captured the greatest amount of public attention in 2011. But Americans also kept a steady watch on the economy at home. More than half said they followed news about […]