Political Issues

As a group, African Americans attracted relatively little attention in the U.S. mainstream news media during the first year of Barack Obama’s presidency — and what coverage there was tended to focus more on specific episodes than on examining how broader issues and trends affected the lives of blacks generally.

Overview While most Americans disapprove of Barack Obama’s handling of the economy, far more think his administration’s policies – rather than those of the Bush administration – would do more to improve economic conditions over the next few years. As Congress gears up for debate over the tax cuts passed when Bush was president, the […]

The fallout from the firing of Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod and the one-year anniversary of the controversial arrest of African American Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., have put race back in the news. How much coverage do African Americans receive? What role did race play in coverage of the Obama Administration? A new study examining media coverage of African Americans in the first year of the Obama presidency offers answers.

Overview The public sees clear winners and losers from the economic policies the government has implemented since the recession of 2008. Most Americans say these policies have helped large banks, large corporations and the wealthy, while providing little or no help for the poor, the middle class or small businesses. Fully 74% say that government […]

One of our core health findings (8 in 10 internet users, or about two-thirds of U.S. adults, look online for health information) is based on a series of questions that is tweaked in each survey. We re-word or separate concepts, cut some topics, a...

Joe Kvedar asks an excellent question in his post, The Next Phase of Connected Health: Connected Personalized Health: What are the best variables to consider when taking connected health programs from pilot to scale?

Speaking to the senior staff of the National Library of Medicine last week was like going before the best kind of murder board. Our jumping-off point was the Pew Internet Project's latest research on internet penetration, mobile use, and the socia...

Overview The public overwhelmingly views the job situation as a major priority for Congress during the coming months. Fully 80% say it is very important for Congress to pass legislation to address the job situation, which is virtually unchanged from May (81%). Somewhat fewer (70%) say it is very important for Congress to reduce the […]

Tech experts generally believe that today's tech-savvy young people will retain their willingness to share personal information online even as they get older and take on more responsibilities.

Internet penetration, mobile use, the social life of health information -- and how it fits in with the National Library of Medicine's strategy.