News Habits & Media

Passions ran high as the blogosphere was consumed with the deadly confrontation between Israeli forces and a supply ship headed for Gaza last week. On Twitter, stories about European soccer led the week. And on YouTube, videos of the Mavi Marmara incident drew significant interest along with a toddler with an unhealthy addiction.

Summary of Findings The public expresses far more trust in the news media for information about the Gulf oil leak than it does in either the federal government or BP. Fully 67% say they have a lot (20%) or some trust (47%) in information on the oil leak coming from news organizations. That compares with […]

With the oil still gushing, BP making new efforts to stanch the spill and the Obama Administration taking a more aggressive line toward the energy company, the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico accounted for a third of last week’s news coverage. No other story came close although a deadly encounter on a boat headed for the Gaza Strip finished as the No. 2 subject.

Summary of Findings As efforts to stop a major underwater oil leak faltered and President Obama traveled to Louisiana to assess the early damage, the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico grabbed public attention and dominated media coverage last week. More than half of Americans (55%) say they followed news about the oil leak very […]

The debate over the popular social networking site Facebook and the issue of privacy rights led a technology-focused week on social media. On Twitter, more than half of the news links were about Apple, a favorite Twitter topic. On YouTube, an ad about immigration featuring a frog puppet received the most views.

The oil spill that won’t stop gushing became the story that won’t stop growing as the Gulf disaster coverage, fueled by a Presidential admission and a failed effort to cap the leak, reached new heights last week. No other subject—including a political controversy, a skittish stock market, the immigration issue or tensions in the Korean peninsula—came close to matching the spill’s coverage.

News that scientists had created the first-ever living cell controlled by synthetic DNA fascinated the blogosphere last week as the discussion focused on the ethics and implications of the achievement. On Twitter, a marketing campaign gone awry received the most attention. And on YouTube, a forceful political ad drew almost a million views.

Summary of Findings Americans stayed focused on the unfolding oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last week, while the effort to cap the underwater well and limit the damage was one of two stories that dominated media coverage. The media devoted comparable levels of coverage to the spill and news about last week’s primaries […]

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a fixture in the headlines for over a month, narrowly edged some attention-grabbing election results as the top story last week. The legislative effort to regulate Wall Street drove economic coverage and two international stories rounded out the roster of top subjects.