News Habits & Media

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 Many more Americans express concern about the amount of violence on entertainment television programs than about the increasingly violent content of broadcast news.  TV news, while seen as containing more graphic violence than in the past, is also seen as reflecting the reality of a violent society. Further, a large sector of the […]

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 Bill Clinton and Ross Perot continue to command more voter attention than George Bush. Times Mirror’s latest Air Wars Score Card finds 37% of American voters saying that in the past week they have heard the most in the media about Bill Clinton. Almost as many mention independent candidate Ross Perot (31%), while […]

Report Summary George Bush is losing the air wars to challengers Bill Clinton and Ross Perot. While the President may be getting as much media coverage and buying as much advertising as his rivals, voters this past week say they have heard most about Clinton and Perot.

Report Summary On the eve of the Democratic Convention, Governor Bill Clinton has taken a giant step toward improving his personal image. A Times Mirror poll conducted on Wednesday and Thursday evening of this week finds 59% of the voting age public having a favorable impression of the Democratic candidate VS. 34% unfavorable. This is […]