News Media Trends

Summary of Findings As he has since January, this week, Barack Obama enjoyed much more visibility as far as the public was concerned than did John McCain. By a margin of 76% to 11% respondents in Pew’s weekly News Interest Index survey named Obama over McCain as the candidate they have heard the most about […]

After accusations of pro-Obama bias and a run of media soul searching, and helped by a heavy dose of controversial attack advertising from his campaign team, Republican nominee John McCain finally forced Barack Obama to share the headlines last week.

Summary of Findings Barack Obama’s weeklong tour of the Middle East and Europe dominated campaign coverage last week, and 90% of the public heard at least something about his travels. Obama’s trip became one of the biggest campaign events thus far, with 62% saying they heard a lot about it. The only campaign development more […]

Barack Obama’s week-long tour of world hotspots and capitals generated more coverage than any campaign event in months. But in the end, the media wondered what he had accomplished and whether they were paying too much attention.

Summary of Findings As Barack Obama prepared for a major international trip last week, a controversial magazine cover here at home drew more public attention. Fully four-in-ten Americans heard a lot about a satirical cartoon on the cover of the New Yorker magazine showing Obama and his wife in the Oval Office — the candidate […]

Newspapers are suffering historic cuts in staffing and drops in revenue, while technological advances are creating new opportunities. What is disappearing from newspapers and what is being added?

The week began with a controversial magazine cover. By week's end, an anticipation of an overseas Obama trip dominated campaign coverage and brought Iraq back into frame.

Summary of Findings While Barack Obama has been the dominant figure in the presidential campaign, both in press coverage and public visibility, most Americans say they do not know very much about his policy positions. Only 40% say they know a lot or a fair amount about his positions on foreign policy; 59% say they […]

Two men who are non-candidates for president drove the media story lines in the campaign last week. Jesse Jackson’s brutal remarks about Barack Obama may have helped the Democrats. Phil Gramm’s about the recession being largely mental did not help his friend John McCain.

In the 2008 election season, religion has been a significant factor for candidates in both parties. But even with the Jeremiah Wright controversy, evangelical voter angst, and a Mormon candidate, the media largely avoided dealing directly with the explosive issue of faith.