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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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    The Master Character Narratives in Campaign 2012

    On the eve of the conventions, the portrayal in the news media of the character and records of the two presidential contenders in 2012 has been as negative as any campaign in recent times, and neither candidate has enjoyed any advantage over the other.

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    Further Decline in Credibility Ratings for Most News Organizations

    Overview For the second time in a decade, the believability ratings for major news organizations have suffered broad-based declines. In the new survey, positive believability ratings have fallen significantly for nine of 13 news organizations tested. This follows a similar downturn in positive believability ratings that occurred between 2002 and 2004. The falloff in credibility […]

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    How the Presidential Candidates Use the Web and Social Media

    On the eve of the conventions, Barack Obama holds a distinct advantage over Mitt Romney in the way his campaign is using digital technology to communicate directly with voters. The Obama campaign is posting almost four times as much content and is active on nearly twice as many platforms, according to a new study analyzing the content and volume of candidate communications on their websites and social media channels.

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    For Communication Grads, a Modest Job Recovery

    What’s the job market like for 2011 mass communication and journalism graduates? According to a new survey from the University of Georgia, there was an uptick in the percentage of bachelor degree recipients who found jobs and, for the first time in years, a small increase in their salaries. But the overall picture is far from rosy.

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    Eight-in-Ten Following Olympics on TV or Digitally

    Overview Large majorities of Americans are following coverage of the Olympic Games in London. Nearly eight-in-ten (78%) say they have watched or followed Olympic coverage either on television, online or on social networks. Television remains far-and-away the leading platform for Olympic coverage; 73% say they have watched coverage on television. Still, 17% say they have […]

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    Colorado Rampage Tops News Interest for July

    Overview In the final two weeks of July, Americans kept a close watch on news about a deadly shooting rampage at a Colorado movie theater, but they also closely tracked news about two long-running stories – the condition of the nation’s economy and the 2012 presidential campaign. News about the shootings, which left 12 dead […]

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    On Twitter, Verdict on Paterno Unchanged by Freeh Report, NCAA

    The conversation on Twitter about the Penn State scandal has shifted focus over the last month from the man convicted of sexual abuse to the school and then to the NCAA. But one constant in the conversation has not budged—views of Joe Paterno.

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    Most Say They Already Know Enough about the Candidates

    Overview With more than three months to go before Election Day, most voters already feel that there’s little left to learn about the presidential candidates. When it comes to Barack Obama, 90% say they already pretty much know what they need to know about him; just 8% say they need to learn more. A substantial […]

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    Colorado Shootings Capture Public’s Interest

    Overview About half of the public says they very closely followed news about the deadly shooting rampage shortly after midnight Friday morning in a movie theater in Colorado, making this one of the most closely followed stories so far in 2012. Fully 48% say they followed this news very closely, according to the latest survey […]

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    YouTube & News

    News is becoming a major part of what Americans watch on YouTube. In the last 15 months, a third of the most searched terms on the video sharing site were news related. A new study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism explores the character of news on YouTube.

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.

Features