report | Jun 5, 2008

Many Say Coverage is Biased in Favor of Obama

Summary of Findings Over the course of the primary campaign season greater numbers heard about controversies associated with Barack Obama than heard about other campaign events. Nonetheless, far more Americans believe that the press coverage has favored Barack Obama than think it has favored Hillary Clinton. Nearly four-in-ten (37%) say that in covering the Democratic […]

report | Jun 2, 2008

Iraq Roars Back as a Campaign Issue

It was another dramatic week for Democrats as the party doled out Florida and Michigan delegates and Obama faced another pastor problem. But as that nominating battle winds down, the bigger news may be the increasingly heated skirmishes over Iraq between Obama and McCain.

report | May 29, 2008

Character and the Primaries of 2008

What were the dominant personal narratives conveyed in media coverage of the presidential candidates? Which contenders fared best in the press and how critical was that coverage in influencing public opinion? How did those candidate story lines change over time? A new PEJ study of the 2008 primary season examines these questions.

report | May 28, 2008

Greater Coverage of McCain, But Public Still Focused on Obama

Summary of Findings Despite a significant increase in news coverage of John McCain last week, Barack Obama remained by far the most visible candidate in the eyes of the public. Fully half of the public said Obama was the candidate they had heard the most about in the news recently, while only 8% said they […]

report | May 27, 2008

While Democrats Battle on, McCain Makes News

The new wrinkle in last week’s campaign coverage was not the Democrats’ results in Oregon and Kentucky or the flap over Hillary Clinton’s Robert Kennedy comment. It was the story of GOP hopeful John McCain finally morphing from bystander on the sidelines to newsmaker in the headlines.

report | May 22, 2008

Foreign Disasters Attract Interest Despite Modest Coverage

Summary of Findings The American public expressed strong news interest in the earthquake in China last week even as the news media remained heavily focused on the presidential campaign. In spite of modest coverage of both the earthquake in China and the cyclone that hit Burma, the public had a fairly good sense of the […]

report | May 19, 2008

Clinton Wins W. Virginia, Obama Wins the Headlines

Despite a big Hillary Clinton win in the West Virginia primary, John Edwards and George Bush helped make Barack Obama the lead campaign newsmaker last week. And they helped reinforce the idea that the Democratic primary fight was just about over.

report | May 19, 2008

Tracking China’s Earthquake on TV and the Internet – Part II

In a second dispatch, our Beijing correspondent reports that Chinese TV is back to being the voice of the government. Meanwhile, the internet has become a more wild-west version of itself, with a virtual explosion of content that runs the gamut from informative to creative, irresponsible, angry, maudlin…

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fact sheet | Sep 20, 2022

Social Media and News Fact Sheet

Digital news has become an important part of Americans’ news media diets, with social media playing a crucial role in news consumption.