Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

News Media Trends

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    Americans Remained Focused on Michael Jackson

    Summary of Findings The death of pop star Michael Jackson continued to grab public attention last week, with Americans saying it was the story they followed most closely for the third straight week. Moreover, Jackson’s death was by far the week’s most talked about news story. About three-in-ten (29%) say they followed Jackson’s memorial service […]

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    Public Hearing More Negative News About Economy

    Summary of Findings From January through May, a growing proportion of Americans said they were hearing a mix of good and bad news about the economy. More recently, however, there has been a steady increase in the share saying that the economic news is mostly bad. Currently, 41% say they are hearing mostly bad news […]

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    Coverage of Jackson’s Death Seen As Excessive

    Summary of Findings The public closely tracked the sudden death of pop superstar Michael Jackson last week, though nearly two-in-three Americans say news organizations gave too much coverage to the story. At the same time, half say the media struck the right balance between reporting on Jackson’s musical legacy and the problems in his personal […]

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    Strong Public Interest in Iranian Election Protests

    Summary of Findings The dramatic events in Iran last week captured the attention of both the public and the media as Americans tracked news about post-election protests in Tehran nearly as closely as they followed news about the troubled U.S. economy. Two-in-ten say they followed news about the street protests over disputed election results – […]

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    Political Extremism (At Home and Abroad) Dominates the Blogosphere

    Bloggers and social media were consumed with two events in the last week that triggered an online debate about political extremism—one in Europe and one in Washington D.C. And the most-viewed news video on YouTube was the start of a feud between David Letterman and Sarah Palin.

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    Employment News Seen As Overwhelmingly Bad

    Summary of Findings Americans by a wide margin say they are hearing mostly negative news about the nation’s job situation, though they are more likely to sense a mix of good and bad news about other elements of the economy. With the jobless rate climbing, seven-in-ten (71%) say they are hearing mostly bad news about […]

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    Week’s Major News Stories Draw Different Audiences

    Summary of Findings Americans divided their attention among several major stories last week as President Obama reached out to the Muslim world in a major speech, a jetliner crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection. At the same time, they continued to keep a close watch on news about the […]

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    First Impressions of Sotomayor Mostly Positive

    Summary of Findings Americans who have learned at least a little about Judge Sonia Sotomayor are more likely to offer traits or aspects they like about President Obama’s first Supreme Court nominee than things they do not like about the federal appellate court judge from New York. Asked if there was anything they have learned […]

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    Public Tracks Economy, Media Focuses on Terror Debate

    Summary of Findings Americans continued to closely track news about the struggling economy and the spread of the swine flu last week, though the media devoted the largest share of coverage to the sharp debate in Washington over how best to protect the nation from terrorism. About a quarter of the public (24%) says they […]

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    Swine Flu Coverage around the World

    The swine flu story quickly topped the American media agenda when the story broke in late April. How did coverage in other countries compare with the U.S.? Was there any correlation between the number of confirmed cases and quantity or nature of coverage? How did Spanish-language media in the U.S. react? A new report examining press coverage of the outbreak in several countries offers answers.