Media Industry

REPORT SUMMARY Many Americans think the press is being unfair to Bill Clinton, and the public most often complains that the media has come to an earlier judgment about this President’s performance than it did about his predecessors. But the public does not blame the press for being too critical of Bill Clinton, nor for causing […]

Report Summary In expressing significant doubts about press performance on the two most closely followed news events of the past month, at least two out of five Americans felt the press was too critical of the Clinton Administration and the FBI for their handling of the Waco, Texas cult tragedy. And one in three complained […]

Report Summary The believability of NBC News has been diminished in the eyes of the public after it admitted that it staged the explosion of a General Motors truck during a segment of the newsmagazine program “Dateline NBC.”

Report Summary Despite an upsurge in consumer confidence, the attention of the American public continues to be focused on the economy. Nearly two out of three Americans (62%) believes that the economy is still either in a recession, or in a depression, while only 34% of the public thinks that an economic recovery has begun.

Report Summary A substantial majority (55%) of the American journalists who followed the 1992 presidential campaign believe that George Bush’s candidacy was damaged by the way the press covered him. Only 11% feel that Gov. Bill Clinton’s campaign was harmed by the way the press covered his drive to the presidency. Moreover, one out of […]

Report Summary The American electorate feels better about itself and better about the campaign process than it did four years ago. A panel back post-mortem survey of voters conducted the weekend following the election found 77% of Americans thinking they learned enough during the campaign to make an informed choice between President George Bush, Governor […]

Report Summary While George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot have all criticized 1992 campaign press coverage, the three candidates might be surprised to learn that many members of the press community share their negative views.

Report Summary While news about the Rodney King verdict and the Los Angeles riots clearly dominated the public’s interest, reports about the condition of the economy were still very closely followed by four in ten Americans (39%). But attention to the economy dropped significantly since Times Mirror’s March and February polls (47% and 47% respectively). […]

Report Summary The President’s approval ratings have slipped below 40% for the first time ever, a significant gender gap is re-emerging, and two traditionally strong constituencies — the affluent and younger voters — are starting to edge away from the President. While the now famous unnamed Democrat beats the President, the public still believes Bush […]

Report Summary The nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court and stories relating to the condition of the economy were the most closely followed news events of the past four weeks. Thirty-five percent of the public said they were following news about the economy very closely and 33% said they were following news […]