Publications

Overview There is broad public agreement that past government policies intended to address the financial crisis and recession have not worked. At the same time, there is very little agreement about what the government should do now to deal with the nation’s biggest economic concern – the job situation. None of the options currently under […]

Damage control in Washington overtook damage control in the Gulf of Mexico as the BP oil spill generated its biggest week of media coverage since the April 20 rig explosion that triggered the disaster. The narrative was driven, in large part, by a president who spoke to the nation and an oil executive who took a pounding from Congress.

The drive for health care reform legislation proved to be the most passionate and polarizing policy fight of Barack Obama’s first year in office, with the public and Congress deeply divided over the initiative. And much of that battle played out through a changing media universe. A new PEJ study, examining 10 months of health care stories, identifies some of the key elements of that coverage.

In 16 of 21 countries, majorities or pluralities approve of Obama's international policies generally -- but that number falls to 7 with respect to his handling of the Middle East.

In 20 countries surveyed in each of the last three years, the 2010 Pew Global Attitudes survey finds the median number naming China as the world’s leading economy has risen from 20% to 31%.

Despite a decline in his popularity at home, Obama continues to enjoy broad popularity around the world.

In 20 nations surveyed in both 2010 and 2007, the median percentage expressing favorable views of the U.S. rose by 20 points.

The percentage of Mexicans holding favorable views of the U.S. fell from 62% to 44% after Arizona's immigration law passed.