Recent Publications

PewResearch.org features major reports, data-driven commentary and analysis, news stories, transcripts and presentations on trends in public opinion and related policy issues in the Pew Research Center's areas of special concentration: U.S. public opinion, global attitudes, the news media, the impact of the internet on American life, the role of religion in public life, the changing experiences of Hispanics in America and social and demographic trends.

When the material resides on project sites, summaries appear on the PewResearch.org site, with links to the full documents on the particular project web site. The archive of past reports and other features include material posted directly on pewresearch.org beginning in February 2006. Complete lists of all project reports and other features, including archives of material released prior to February 2006, can be found on the individual project websites.

Hurricane Earl Spares East Coast, But Hits Media
8 Sep 10The huge storm triggered FEMA warnings, evacuations and at times, near apocalyptic media coverage.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Turks Downbeat About Their Institutions
Even Military Less Well-Regarded
7 Sep 10Confidence in Turkish institutions and leaders -- including the military, religious leaders, and the prime minster -- has declined over the last few years. And Turks continue to express largely negative views of major world powers.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

Blogs Continue Islamic Center Debate
2 Sep 10Bloggers on both sides of the issue took part in a discussion that was as much about the motives of those having the argument as the Islamic center itself.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Most 'Re-employed' Workers Say They're Overqualified for Their New Job
2 Sep 10Workers who suffered a spell of unemployment during the recession are, on average, less satisfied with their new jobs than workers who didn’t. These re-employed workers also are more likely to consider themselves over-qualified for their current position. And six-in-ten say they changed careers or seriously thought about it while they were unemployed.
Social & Demographic Trends

Glenn Beck, Christians and Mormons
2 Sep 10In contrast to the Beck's comments, it's incorrect to say that “most” Christians do not view Mormons as Christians. However, many have mixed views about Mormonism.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Adults, Cell Phones and Texting
2 Sep 10Adults are increasingly using text messages to communicate, but they still text far less than teenagers, who send and receive, on average, five times more texts per day than adult texters.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Public Divided Over Tone of Mosque Fight
1 Sep 10Among those who see the debate as rude and disrespectful, most say opponents of the Islamic center are mostly to blame.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

U.S. Unauthorized Immigration Flows Are Down Sharply Since Mid-Decade
1 Sep 10The annual inflow of unauthorized immigrants to the U.S. was nearly two-thirds smaller in the March 2007 to March 2009 period than it had been from March 2000 to March 2005. This decline contributed to an overall 8% reduction in the unauthorized immigrant population, which fell to 11.1 million in 2009 from 12 million in 2007. The decrease represents the first significant reversal in the growth of this population over the past two decades.
Pew Hispanic Center

Politics Tops Media Agenda, Again
31 Aug 10The midterm elections led the week's news for the second time in three weeks.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Obama's Middle East Problem
27 Aug 10While global publics largely take a positive view of the president's leadership and foreign policy, he receives his lowest marks on dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- and his ratings on this issue are especially negative in the Arab nations of the Middle East.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

Older Adults and Social Media
27 Aug 10The number of older adults on Facebook and other social networking sites has roughly doubled in the past year. About half of internet users ages 50-64 and one-in-four users ages 65 and older now log onto social networks.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Blogs Debate New York Mosque
26 Aug 10Debate over the mosque controversy raged online again, but in contrast to last week, bloggers in support of the Islamic center lead the discussion.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Five Years After Hurricane Katrina
Progress Seen in New Orleans; Nation Not Prepared for Natural Disaster
26 Aug 10Most Americans say that the nation is no better prepared for hurricanes and other natural disasters than it was in 2005. However, the public does see progress in rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf region.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

New York Islamic Center Debate Tops Coverage, But Not News Interest
More Republicans than Democrats, Independents Track Mosque Story
25 Aug 10More than four-in-ten Republicans (44%) say they followed news about the mosque debate very closely, compared with 28% each of Democrats and independents.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

How the Media Covered the Gulf Oil Spill Disaster
25 Aug 10The disaster in the Gulf dominated the news for the 100 days following the initial rig explosion. A media analysis finds the mainstream press spent considerable time reporting from the region and humanizing the crisis.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Public Remains Conflicted Over Islam
24 Aug 10Favorable views of Islam have declined since 2005, but a plurality still says Islam does not encourage violence more than other religions. More Americans agree with those who object to the building of the center in New York, but a majority also say that Muslims should have the same rights as other religious groups to build houses of worship.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Islamic Center Tops Media Agenda
24 Aug 10The controversy over a New York Islamic center dominated ideologically driven talk shows on both cable TV and radio -- but registered barely a blip in mainstream newspapers.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Blogs Not Neutral on Google
19 Aug 10Bloggers roundly criticized Google for seemingly softening its support of network neutrality -- the concept of treating all internet traffic equally across a network.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Many Say Coverage of the Poor and Minorities Is Too Negative
News about Whites, Middle-Class Mostly Seen as Fair
19 Aug 10Pluralities say that coverage of poor people and Muslims is too negative, while somewhat smaller percentages say the same about coverage of blacks and Hispanics. About a third say that coverage of wealthy people is too positive -- the highest percentage for any group tested.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

The Fading Glory of the Television and Telephone
19 Aug 10The TV and the landline phone are both losing their cachet in the digital age, as fewer consider them necessities. But while phones are being dumped, Americans are stocking up on ever more television sets -- especially the big flat ones
Social & Demographic Trends

Growing Number of Americans Say Obama is a Muslim
Religion, Politics and the President
19 Aug 10More than a year into his presidency, 18% of Americans say that Barack Obama is a Muslim. A plurality say they do not know what religion he follows. The view that president is a Muslim is highest among his political opponents. Yet the public also generally says Obama handles his religious beliefs appropriately.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Campaign Coverage Heats Up
Oil Spill Coverage Reaches New Low
17 Aug 10The midterm elections led the news last week. For the first time since the crisis began in late April the Gulf oil spill was not among the top three topics reported on in the media.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Bloggers Applaud Gay Marriage Victory
12 Aug 10More than a quarter of the news links on blogs were about the Proposition 8 decision. The commentary was overwhelmingly positive.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Mexicans Continue Support for Drug War
But Sense of Progress and Support for U.S. Involvement Declines
12 Aug 10Mexicans overwhelmingly continue to endorse President Calderón's campaign against the drug cartels and most -- though somewhat fewer than a year ago -- see progress in the drug war. But opposition to direct U.S. involvement has increased, and Mexican views of the U.S. generally turned negative following passage of the recent Arizona immigration law.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

Religion in the 2008 Presidential Election
An Analysis of 2008 Exit Polls
11 Aug 10An analysis of newly released exit poll data finds that Barack Obama succeeded in attracting a larger share of the vote among some religious groups than John Kerry did in 2004. The contours of religion and politics, however, were largely the same in 2008 as in 2004.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Unauthorized Immigrants and Their U.S.-Born Children
11 Aug 10Unauthorized immigrants comprise about 4% of the adult population, but their children make up a much larger share of both the newborn population (8%) and the overall child population (7% of those younger than age 18) in this country.
Pew Hispanic Center

More Hearing Good News About Gulf Spill
Views of Economic News Little Changed
11 Aug 10Perceptions of news about the oil leak have become somewhat more positive, while views of economic news remain mixed. About one-in-five track news about the overturn of California's gay marriage ban and the planned Islamic cultural center in New York.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Broadband 2010: A Big Slowdown
11 Aug 10Broadband adoption slowed dramatically in 2010 across a range of demographic groups with African Americans a major exception. But 53% of Americans don't place a high priority on government efforts to spread high-speed access.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

The Vote for Congress: GOP Fares Better with Whites, Men, Independents and Seniors
Who's Moving, Who's Staying: 2006-2010
10 Aug 10While voter preferences for the midterm elections remain closely divided, Republicans now enjoy advantages among typically loyal voting blocs that wavered in 2006 and are doing better with key swing groups. Americans who intend to vote GOP this fall are also far more engaged in the campaign this year.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Job Numbers Boost Economic Coverage
Gulf Spill Coverage Continues to Dwindle
10 Aug 10The jobs situation accounted for more than a third of all the economy-related news. Also, with little oil leaking, coverage of the Gulf reaches a low.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Technology Concerns Dominate Twitter
Chevrolet Volt Discussed on Blogs
5 Aug 10Two consumer-related technology topics dominated on Twitter last week -- privacy concerns on Facebook and user rights with Apple's iPhone device.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Journalism Jobs Harder to Find
5 Aug 10A University of Georgia survey of recent journalism and mass communication graduates finds toughest job market in the 24-year history of the study. Minority graduates have had an especially difficult time finding work. In regards to being prepared for communications work, graduates give their schools mixed grades.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Federal Court Strikes Down California Same-Sex Marriage Ban
5 Aug 10A federal district court judge struck down California’s ban on gay marriage, ruling that the prohibition violates the U.S. Constitution. The decision, which is expected to be appealed, represents the first time a federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Constitution protects the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

The Invisible Court
3 Aug 10While legal scholars analyze Kagan's possible impact on the "Roberts court," most Americans have no idea who "Roberts" is. And as experts debate if the court has become more conservative, the public sees the court moving in the opposite direction.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Mixed Public Reaction to WikiLeaks
Most Say Too Much Chelsea Clinton Coverage
3 Aug 10About equal percentages say the release of classified documents about the war in Afghanistan harms the public interest as say it serves the public interest. Most say Chelsea Clinton's wedding received too much attention from the press.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

WikiLeaks Puts Afghanistan Back on Media Agenda
Immigration Dominates Cable News
3 Aug 10The leak of some 90,000 classified war reports triggered a renewed debate over war strategy in Afghanistan. With court action in Arizona, the immigration debate dominated cable news.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Earmarks Could Help Candidates in Midterms; Palin and Tea Party Connections Could Hurt
Energy: Public Backs a Wide Range of Goals, Policies
2 Aug 10Across party lines, the public sees earmarking by their congressional candidates as more of an asset than a liability. Americans are divided on the value of Obama in November, while both Palin's support and Tea Party affiliation are seen by more as negative than positive. On energy, public backs a wide range of goals and policies.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Blogs Discover, Discuss Altered BP Photo
29 Jul 10A blogger's discovery of BP's altered photo of its crisis center was the top story in the blogosphere. Also, many blogs linking to a column bemoaning the loss of the traditional newsroom agreed with the author.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Public Opinion in Pakistan: Concern About Extremist Threat Slips
America's Image Remains Poor
29 Jul 10Pakistanis have grown markedly less concerned about extremist groups, and are far more worried about the external threat from India. America's image remains negative and support for U.S. involvement in the fight against extremists has waned. Many Pakistanis endorse extreme views about law, religion and society.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

Sherrod Story: Heavy Coverage, Modest Interest
More Now Say "Too Much" Oil Leak Coverage
28 Jul 10Despite heavy coverage of the Shirley Sherrod affair, the oil leak in the Gulf was by far the public's most closely followed news story.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

How Young Latinos Communicate with Friends in the Digital Age
28 Jul 10While they still trail their non-Latino counterparts, young Latinos make extensive use of mobile technology. But use of cell phones and text messages differs notably among young Hispanics by nativity.
Pew Hispanic Center

Latino Digital Divide: Native Born vs. Foreign Born
27 Jul 10While rates of internet and cell phone use among native-born Hispanics are relatively high, technology use for the full population of Hispanics continues to lag behind the use rates of the non-Hispanic population.
Pew Hispanic Center

Economy Still Tops News Agenda
Shirley Sherrod the Top Newsmaker of the Week
27 Jul 10For four days, Shirley Sherrod consumed 41% of the cable news airtime, helping her become the top newsmaker of the week. The Washington Post's series on gathering intelligence sparked a debate, and demonstrated a new media trend.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

The Story of Shirley Sherrod: Reconstruction of a Media Mess
How One Video Triggered a Rush to Judgment
27 Jul 10A media analysis of the Shirley Sherrod story traces how the story evolved and played out in the media in that frantic period between the July 19 release of the video and the July 21 apologies to Sherrod from Gibbs and Vilsack as well as Fox News host Bill O'Reilly.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Obama's Policies Seen as Better than Bush's for Improving the Economy
Both Parties Doing Poor Job Working Together, Offering Solutions
26 Jul 10As Congress gears up for debate over the tax cuts passed when Bush was president, the public is divided, with roughly equal numbers in favor of keeping all of Bush's tax cuts, repealing only those for wealthy Americans, or scrapping them entirely.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Media, Race and Obama's First Year
A Study of African Americans in U.S. News Coverage
26 Jul 10A year-long study finds that, 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 broader issues and trends affecting the lives of blacks generally.
Project for Excellence in Journalism and Social & Demographic Trends

Polls, iPhones and Panic
23 Jul 10Bloggers seized on Obama's poll numbers while tweeters took on Apple's newest gadget. Both social media tools took an interest in their online cousin: Facebook.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Lost Income, Lost Friends -- and Loss of Self-Respect
The Impact of Long-Term Unemployment
22 Jul 10A new Pew Research Center survey finds the long-term unemployed are more likely than the short-term unemployed not only to have lost income, but also to have lost contact with close friends, suffered strains in family relations and lost some self-respect and confidence in their long-term career prospects.
Social & Demographic Trends

Censuses Ignite Controversy in Canada and the U.K.
22 Jul 10The head of Statistics Canada has resigned over the government's decision to drop the mandatory long form in the 2011 Census while in the United Kingdom, next year's census may be the last in traditional form.
Social & Demographic Trends

Public Hears Better News from the Gulf
Many Expect GOP to Take House
21 Jul 10Most Americans are hearing some good news from the Gulf. On balance, more see Republicans gaining a majority in House after the fall elections.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press