2007 Publications

In Search of Solutions: How People use the Internet, Libraries, and Government Agencies to Find Help
31 Dec 07A new survey challenges the assumption that libraries are no longer relevant, although the internet is now the most consulted information source.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

View from Pakistan: Before Bhutto's Assassination, Public Opinion Was Increasingly Opposed to Terrorism
28 Dec 07What the former prime minister's death means for the country's stability is highly uncertain, but it is clear that Pakistanis, while supportive of democratic elections and disapproving of militant extremism, remain highly skeptical of the U.S.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

New Year, New Laws
28 Dec 07As partygoers count down the seconds toward New Year's Day, not everyone will be celebrating. At least 31 states will start to enforce new laws, and some of them can seem pretty tough, ranging from where you can smoke in Illinois to how much it costs to enter a strip club in Texas.
Stateline.org

Greetings from Your Governor!
21 Dec 07Stateline has collected this year's set of gubernatorial holiday greetings including a cowboy poem, original artwork, lots of family photos, several pets and even a few mentions of a Merry Christmas.
Stateline.org

The Death Penalty in America
19 Dec 07Religious communities have been deeply involved on both sides of the capital punishment issue. As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in a case challenging use of lethal injection, a Pew Forum special report examines the history of the death penalty, arguments before the court and public opinion.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Teen Content Creators
19 Dec 07Some 93% of teens use the internet, and more of them than ever are treating it as a venue for social interaction -- a place where they can share creations, tell stories, and interact with others.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Primary Preview: Dynamics Differ for the Two Parties in Early Races
Personal and Tactical Factors Matter Most for Democratic Candidates, Ideological Divides for Republican Candidates
19 Dec 07For Democratic candidates, the decisive factors in Iowa and New Hampshire are personal and tactical; for GOP contestants, however, the ultimate outcome may be decided by the relative strength of newly combative ideological elements.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Gas Prices, Disasters Top News Interest in 2007
19 Dec 07Man-made and natural disasters dominated the list of the public's top news stories in 2007 but, as was the case in 2006, the rising price of gasoline attracted the largest audience of any news story.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Iraq Portrait: How the Press Has Covered Events on the Ground
19 Dec 07Through the first 10 months of 2007, the news media's picture of Iraq was painted mostly in bleak colors. But reports about daily attacks declined in late summer and fall, as did the amount of coverage from Iraq overall.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

What Was -- and Wasn't -- On the Public's Mind in 2007
19 Dec 07 A compilation of the top 15 stories in which public opinion played a significant role, and the year's most notable "non-barking dogs."
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Science in America: Religious Belief and Public Attitudes
18 Dec 07The combination of widespread religious commitment and leadership in science and technology greatly enlarges the potential for conflict between faith and science in the U.S.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Digital Footprints: Online Identity Management and Search in the Age of Transparency
16 Dec 07Unlike footprints left in the sand, our online data trails often stick around long after the tide has gone out. And internet users have become more aware of information that remains connected to their name online.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Primary Problems: How Exit Pollsters Plan to Cope with a Super-Crowded Election Season
14 Dec 07From holiday distractions to winter weather, the people who will be measuring voters' preferences in primaries and caucuses around the nation will be dealing with unprecedented problems. Here's how they plan to do it.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Oprah Boosts Obama's Visibility; Republicans Applaud Romney Speech
13 Dec 07Awareness of Winfrey's support for Obama was equally high across parties, genders and racial groups; leading GOP candidates still lag behind Obama and Clinton in public visibility.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

With Feds Stuck, States Tackle Immigration
13 Dec 07State lawmakers have taken widely divergent approaches to dealing with an influx of immigrants; some are rolling out welcome mats while others are slamming shut their doors.
Stateline.org

The Immigration Debate: Controversy Heats Up, Hispanics Feel a Chill
13 Dec 07The 2007 National Survey of Latinos finds that Hispanics in the U.S. are feeling a range of negative effects from increased public attention and stepped up enforcement measures.
Pew Hispanic Center

Health Problems, Priorities and Donors Worldwide
The Kaiser/Pew Global Health Survey
13 Dec 07A new survey compares the health priorities of people in developing nations with those of their governments and the international organizations that work in global health.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

South Korea's Coming Election Highlights Christian Community
12 Dec 07The fact that the presidential frontrunner is a Protestant Church leader highlights the growing numbers, influence and religious intensity of South Korea's Christians.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

How the World Sees China
11 Dec 07Rising anti-Americanism in recent years has given China a decided image advantage over the U.S. But Pew polls suggests that perceptions of China's increasing military and economic power could boost anti-Chinese sentiment in years to come.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

States Take Lead in Housing Crisis
7 Dec 07From establishing foreclosure hotlines to temporarily freezing sub-prime interest rates, states are at the forefront of policymaking to minimize damage from the mortgage meltdown.
Stateline.org

The Courting of Iowa and New Hampshire: Many are Robo-Called but Fewer Are Listening
7 Dec 07Voters, especially Democrats, in two early primary states are being inundated with phone calls, mail and other campaign contacts; but so far there are few signs of campaign fatigue.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Third Quarter News: Terrorism, Tight Credit, and Tragedies
6 Dec 07The threat of terrorism, a real estate recession, and man-made disasters all emerged as major stories in the U.S. news media in the third quarter of 2007, according to a new study of press coverage by the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Hispanics and the 2008 Election: A Swing Vote?
6 Dec 07Earlier Republican Party gains among Latinos have dissipated in the past year, a new Pew Hispanic Center survey finds. Hispanics also comprise a sizable share of voters in four "swing states" that President Bush narrowly carried in 2004.
Pew Hispanic Center

Public Still Getting To Know Leading GOP Candidates
Many Republicans Unaware of Romney's Religion
5 Dec 07While 86% of the public can name Rudy Giuliani as the former NYC mayor, only about half as many correctly identified Mitt Romney as a Mormon and even fewer knew that he was a former Mass. governor.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

How the World Rates Women as Leaders
5 Dec 07On Dec.10, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will become Argentina's first female president, joining 11 other female prime ministers and presidents. But a Pew Global Attitudes survey finds world publics hold mixed opinions about women political leaders.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

GOP Race Unsettled in Politically Diverse Early States
4 Dec 07Likely Republican voters in the three politically disparate early primary states express less enthusiasm about their field of presidential candidates, and many voice only modest support for their choices.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Public Opinion About Mormons
Mitt Romney Discusses His Religion
4 Dec 07Mitt Romney's speech discussing the role of religion in American politics addressed a public among which many harbor doubts about his Mormon faith.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Clinton Pressed in Iowa, But Holds Solid Leads Elsewhere
3 Dec 07Democrats enter the presidential primary campaign upbeat about their candidates and united in their views on major issues. Sen. Hillary Clinton is the Democratic frontrunner in three key early primary states, holding a slim five-point edge in Iowa and more substantial 19-point and 14-point leads in New Hampshire and South Carolina, respectively.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Immigration Takes Center Stage at GOP YouTube Debate
Public Says It Prefers Questions From "Regular" People
29 Nov 07In a format the public says it prefers -- "regular people," not journalists, posing the questions -- immigration emerged as the hot-button issue. Were the candidates' answers in sync with GOP voters' opinions?
Pew Research Center

English Usage among Hispanics in the United States
29 Nov 07A new analysis of six Pew Hispanic Center surveys finds a dramatic increase in English-language ability from one generation of Hispanics to the next.
Pew Hispanic Center

Tobacco Case Could Limit State Powers
28 Nov 07Forty state laws regulating internet tobacco sales -- and many other laws governing dangerous products -- are at stake in a case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this week.
Stateline.org

Journalists in Iraq: A Survey of Reporters on the Front Lines
28 Nov 07Journalists covering Iraq -- mostly veteran war correspondents -- give their reporting a generally positive assessment but describe conditions there as the most perilous they have ever encountered.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Public Sees Progress in War Effort
27 Nov 07For the first time in a long time, nearly half of Americans express positive opinions about the situation in Iraq and judgments about the overall situation in Iraq have been improving steadily since the summer.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Will Shared Concern about Iran Provide Common Ground for Middle East Negotiators in Annapolis?
27 Nov 07Chances for progress at the Middle East conference should be bolstered by the presence of Saudi Arabia, which is viewed as a key ally in much of the Arab world.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

States Clammed Up After 9/11
19 Nov 07The 2001 terrorist attacks led every state but South Dakota to restrict access to all sorts of information deemed critical to homeland security.
Stateline.org

Will California Jumpstart National Health Care Reform?
19 Nov 07With more uninsured than any other state -- more than the entire population of Massachusetts -- the Golden State could once again emerge a trendsetter.
Stateline.org

The View from the Other Side
How Republicans Rate the Democratic Candidates, and Democrats Rate the Republicans
19 Nov 07A survey finds no evidence that a significant number of voters are considering crossing party lines -- or voting strategically for the other party's weakest candidate.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Tracking the Traders
A Look at the Buyers and Sellers Who Make the Stock Market Go Up and Down
19 Nov 07A look at the attitudes of the regular buyers and sellers who make the stock market go up and down finds they are, among other things, even more likely to support the frontrunners in both the Democratic and Republican primaries.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Lebanon's Precarious Politics
Many of the Country's Sectarian Differences Do Not Run along a Straight Muslim-Christian Fault Line
15 Nov 07Behind the delayed selection of a new president, now scheduled for next week, lie complicated sectarian struggles, many of which do not run along a straight Muslim/Christian fault line.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

Why We Don't Know Enough About Broadband in the U.S.
Networks May Be Global but Measurement Must Be Local -- and Government Agencies Need Help to Do a Better Job at Collecting It
14 Nov 07Many key questions about the information society require fine-grained, publicly available data about broadband deployment and use at the local level -- but government agencies need more help in gathering it.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Blacks See Growing Values Gap Between Poor and Middle Class
Optimism About Black Progress Declines
13 Nov 07African Americans see a widening gulf between the values of middle class and poor blacks, and nearly four-in-ten say that because of the diversity within their community, blacks can no longer be thought of as a single race, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
Social & Demographic Trends

Iraq News: Less Dominant, Still Important
9 Nov 07Both media coverage of the conflict and public interest in it have fallen, but a growing number of Americans would like to see more war coverage, especially of U.S. troops and returning veterans.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Election '07: Lessons Learned
8 Nov 07Tuesday's elections proved once again that all politics is local as voters in three states soundly rejected governors' pet projects and others put big-ticket spending items on the state's credit card while providing possible clues to the voters' mood for '08. Also a graphic look at the before and after in three states where the entire legislatures were up for grabs.
Stateline.org

Religious Groups' Presidential Candidate Preferences
7 Nov 07A new analysis of recent surveys show Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani as the preferred candidates among key religious groups. Giuliani, though, garners considerably less support from white evangelical Protestants than he does from white mainline Protestants and white Catholics.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Election '07: Tuesday's Winners and Losers
7 Nov 07A roundup of state legislature and gubernatorial race outcomes and a look at the fate of high profile ballot initiatives across the states.
Stateline.org

A Year Later: Public Dissatisfied With Democratic Leaders, But Still Happy They Won
7 Nov 07Republican leaders share blame for Congress's lack of productivity; Democrats holds 12-point advantage over GOP as better able to manage the federal government.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Musharraf's Support Shrinks, Even As More Pakistanis Reject Terrorism... and the U.S.
7 Nov 07As American leaders from George W. Bush to Barack Obama talk tough with Pakistan about terrorism, Pakistanis themselves express fear and loathing of the United States, but reject terrorist tactics.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

Faith and the Public Dialogue: A Conversation with Sen. John Kerry
1 Nov 07At a Pew Forum event, the Massachusetts Democrat candidly discusses the propriety of public inquiry into politicians' religious beliefs and lessons learned from his 2004 presidential bid.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Karen Hughes' Uphill Battle
Foreign Policy, Not Public Diplomacy, Mostly Determines How the World Views America
1 Nov 07Despite the efforts of the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, America's image problems endure as foreign policy, not public diplomacy, is the major determinant of how the world views America.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

A Year Ahead, Republicans Face Tough Political Terrain
31 Oct 07A year before the 2008 presidential election, most major national opinion trends decidedly favor the Democrats and discontent with the state of the nation is markedly greater than it was four years ago. Also, Republicans have become less likely to say that their party is doing a good job standing up for its traditional positions.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Widespread Negativity: Muslims Distrust Westerners More than Vice Versa
30 Oct 07Muslims and non-Muslims associate a wide array of negative characteristics with one another. But there is generally more antagonism in Muslim countries toward the West than vice versa.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

The Invisible Primary - Invisible No Longer
A First Look at Coverage of the 2008 Presidential Campaign
29 Oct 07In the early months of the 2008 campaign, the media had essentially winnowed the race to a handful of candidates and offered Americans relatively little information about their records or what they would do if elected.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Turkey and Its (Many) Discontents
The Turkish Public's Opinions of America Have Hit Rock Bottom -- but Turks Don't Think Much of Other Nations or Groups Either
25 Oct 07Turkey is a key strategic U.S. ally but negative views of America are widespread and growing there. Turks also have low opinions of many other nations and groups.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

Between Here and There: How Attached Do Latino Immigrants Remain to Their Native Country?
25 Oct 07Most maintain some kind of connection to their native country, but only one-in-ten can be considered to be highly attached.
Pew Hispanic Center

Parents, Teens and Technology
24 Oct 07Family members tend to use the same kinds of gadgets, but teenagers find them more useful.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

A Delicate Balance: The Free Exercise Clause and the Supreme Court
24 Oct 07More than a century of court decisions in this area have forged a ragged path from one extreme to the other, with permutations in between.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

The Free Exercise Clause and the Parameters of Religious Liberty
24 Oct 07An expert on law and religion discusses concrete examples of protected religious expression – must the sheik remove his turban when boarding a plane?
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Modest Interest in 2008 Campaign News
Democratic Candidates Better Known, Even Among Republicans
23 Oct 07Many more Republicans are able to recall unprompted the names of Democratic frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama than can name Rudy Giuliani and other leading GOP candidates.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

State-level Republican Candidates Stress Immigration
18 Oct 07Candidates in several states are capitalizing on voter anger over illegal immigration after Congress failed for the second year in a row to pass major immigration reforms.
Stateline.org

Broadband: What's All the Fuss About?
The impacts of high-speed connections extend beyond access to information to active participation in the online commons
17 Oct 07The impacts of high-speed connections extend beyond access to information to active participation in the online commons.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

A Portrait of Republican Social-Issue Voters
Though Much Courted by GOP candidates, Their Impact on the Nominating Process Is Still Unclear
15 Oct 07Though much courted by GOP candidates, the impact of this voting bloc on the presidential nominating process remains unclear.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

When Strangers Contact Teens Online
Most Such Experiences Are Neither Scary Nor Uncomfortable, but Certain Traits or Activities Can Invite More Interactions with Unknown Persons
15 Oct 07While the number of teens made uncomfortable by an online experience with someone they do not know is relatively small, certain traits and activities are more likely to attract interactions with unknown individuals, whether unwanted or not.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Economic Pessimism Grows as Nation's Real Estate Slump Hits Wealthy Areas
Republicans Less Upbeat About Economy and Housing Markets
11 Oct 07Public assessments of the nation's economy have fallen to a two-year low. Faced with a steady stream of negative news about the housing market, Americans are substantially less inclined than they were even a few months ago to say they expect home prices to rise over the next few years.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

The Precarious State of Statehouse Budgets
10 Oct 07A slumping housing market and skimpier sales tax collections are busting budgets from California to Florida with national job growth sluggish and consumer confidence near a two-year low.
Stateline.org

Thompson Stands with GOP Rank and File during First Debate
The Former Senator Stuck to Traditional -- and Popular -- Positions Among Republican Voters
10 Oct 07In his first appearance on a debate stage with his rivals for the Republican nomination, the former Tennessee senator stuck to very traditional -- and very popular -- positions among his party's voters.
Pew Research Center

The Right-to-Die Debate and the Tenth Anniversary of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act
10 Oct 07Similar measures considered in several other states have failed in the state legislature or at the ballot box, while polls show the country still divided on the issue.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

E-patients with a Disability or Chronic Disease
9 Oct 07Just half of adults with chronic conditions use the internet; but once online, they are avid consumers of health information.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

World Publics Welcome Global Trade -- But Not Immigration
4 Oct 07A 47-nation survey finds broad support for the key tenets of economic globalization, including free trade, multinational corporations and free markets. Yet concerns exist about inequality, threats to traditional culture, threats to the environment and threats posed by immigration.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

Cancer Research, Vouchers on '07 Ballots
1 Oct 07Proposals on cancer research and school vouchers are among the questions that voters in seven states will take up during this fall's quiet election season.
Stateline.org

Young White Evangelicals: Less Republican, Still Conservative
28 Sep 07An analysis of Pew Research Center surveys conducted between 2001 and 2007 suggests that young white evangelicals have become increasingly dissatisfied with Bush and are moving away from the GOP. How will these changes affect the vote in 2008 and beyond?
Pew Research Center

Dems Debate Iraq Withdrawal Timetable
27 Sep 07When debate moderator Tim Russert asked the Democratic presidential candidates if they would pledge to have all U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of their first term, the leading candidates all declined to make a firm pledge. Are they in sync -- or out of sync -- with the views of Democratic voters on the question of an Iraq war withdrawal timetable?
Pew Research Center

Lethal Injection Goes on Trial, But Goes On
26 Sep 07The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on a case brought by two Kentucky prisoners, who argue that the state's lethal injection drug regimen exposes inmates to illegal cruel and unusual punishment. But – to the disappointment of death-penalty opponents – the use of lethal injection continues.
Stateline.org

Public Expresses Mixed Views of Islam, Mormonism
Benedict XVI Viewed Favorably But Faulted on Religious Outreach
25 Sep 07The Muslim and Mormon religions have gained increasing national visibility in recent years. Yet most Americans say they know little or nothing about either religion's practices, and large majorities say that their own religion is very different from Islam and the Mormon religion. At the same time, overall evaluations of Mormons and Muslim Americans are on balance positive.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Political Knowledge Update
Most of the Public Is Familiar with Key Political and Iraq Facts
24 Sep 07Take our updated quiz about prominent people and major events in the news. Then see how you did in comparison with 1,005 randomly sampled adults asked the same questions in a recent national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Much Campus Crime Goes Unreported
New Post-Virginia Tech Report Gives Added Weight to Concerns
20 Sep 07Schools and colleges across the country do not report violent incidents on campus consistently or accurately -- in many cases because they are not required to, according to safety experts and a new report by 27 state attorneys general.
Stateline.org

Voters Assess the '08 Hopefuls: Clinton Seen as 'Tough,' Giuliani Viewed as 'Energetic'
20 Sep 07The public is no more engaged by the presidential campaign than in the spring, but the perceived strengths of some leading candidates are coming into focus.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

The Oprah Factor in Campaign '08
Do Political Endorsements Matter?
20 Sep 07Do political endorsements matter? Generally they have little impact on voter preferences, but there's no telling whether Oprah Winfrey can do for Obama what she has done for countless books and products.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Hobbyists Online
The great majority of online Americans now use the internet to pursue their leisure-time interests
19 Sep 07The Internet has become America's playground with the great majority of those online now using the web to pursue leisure-time interests from genealogy and collecting to gambling.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Petraeus' Proposals Draw Public Approval, But Fail to Lift War Support
Increases in Optimism Are Mostly Limited to Republicans
18 Sep 07A new Pew survey finds most Americans (57%) approve of the general's recommendations for troop withdrawals, but just 16% say Petraeus' statements have made them more optimistic about the war, while 67% say their views were unchanged by the general's report.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Just how bad are things in Springfield?
Democrats' dysfunction hobbles Illinois
17 Sep 07Democrats hold full sway in the Illinois Capitol but their infighting is paralyzing the legislature and blocking important programs.
Stateline.org

Case the Candidates for '08
The Pew Forum Database Covers Presidential Contenders' Positions on Issues of Special Religious Significance and Other Domestic and Foreign Policies
17 Sep 07The Pew Forum database covers presidential contenders' positions on issues of special religious significance as well as their stands on other domestic and foreign policies.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

A Nation of "Haves" and "Have-Nots"?
Far More Americans Now See Their Country as Sharply Divided Along Economic Lines
13 Sep 07Over the past two decades, the number of Americans who see the country as divided along economic lines has increased sharply, and twice as many people now see themselves among the society's "have-nots."
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

A Half Century After It First Appeared on the Dollar Bill, "In God We Trust" Still Stirs Opposition
12 Sep 07Oct. 1 marks the 50th anniversary of the appearance of the words on U.S. paper currency. The phrase, which is also the nation's official motto, has been caught in a broader controversy over just how high the wall separating church and state should stand.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

States Scramble for Gambling Jackpot
12 Sep 07Fed up seeing their residents dole out millions of dollars at out-of-state casinos and tracks, more than a dozen states this year worked on dramatically expanding gambling within their own borders.
Stateline.org

The News You Choose
How User-Driven Content Differs from Mainstream Media
12 Sep 07In a world without journalists, or at least without editors, what would the news agenda look like? A one-week study of a new crop of user-driven news sites by the Project for Excellence in Journalism suggests that the news agenda would be more diverse, more transitory, and often drawn from a very different and perhaps controversial list of sources.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Craig Scandal Highlights Governors' Appointment Powers
10 Sep 07The sudden departure from office of a U.S. senator -- or the threat of a departure -- often thrusts governors into the national spotlight, highlighting the sometimes murky and often politicized process of how states choose congressional replacements.
Stateline.org

"First of the Fall" GOP Debate
6 Sep 07On Wednesday evening, eight Republican presidential candidates met in a debate at the University of New Hampshire. How did candidate views compare with public opinion on the topics discussed?
Pew Research Center

Religion in Campaign '08
Clinton and Guiliani Seen as Not Highly Religious; Romney's Religion Raises Concerns
6 Sep 07Religion is not currently proving to be a clear-cut positive in the 2008 presidential race. Candidates viewed by voters as the least religious are the current frontrunners for the Democratic and Republican nominations – Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, respectively. And the candidate seen as far and away the most religious – Mitt Romney – appears handicapped by this perception because of voter concerns about Mormonism.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

What Could Convince Americans to Stay the Course in Iraq?
The Strength of Conflicting Opinions May Shade Public Reactions to the Petraeus Report
5 Sep 07A look at the course of opinions about the Iraq war over the past few years suggests that two crucial but opposing factors in U.S. thinking will likely shape the public's response to the Petraeus report.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Home Insurance Woes Mount in U.S. Coastal Areas
As Private Firms Balk at Rising Risks, States Are Scrambling to Fill the Void
4 Sep 07Two years after Hurricane Katrina, state governments along the Gulf Coast and in other storm-prone areas struggle to keep affordable coverage available in areas seen as increasingly risky.
Stateline.org

Fred Thompson's Online Campaign Is in Full Swing
At his website, I'mwithFred.com, the candidate-to-be is already busy reaching out to supporters
4 Sep 07When he formally enters the 2008 race this week, former Sen. Fred Thompson can behave in all ways like a presidential candidate. But on his "testing the waters" website, I'mwithFred.com, he's already been busy reaching out to supporters.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Black Enthusiasm for Clinton and Obama Leaves Little Room for Edwards
Clinton's Image Up among Liberals, Down among Conservatives; Obama Scores Best among College Educated
30 Aug 07The popularity of the two top contenders among key segments of the Democratic electorate may help explain why Edwards's populist platform has not drawn wider support so far.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

A Changing Racial and Ethnic Mix in U.S. Public Schools
White Students are Less Isolated but Blacks and Hispanics Are More So
30 Aug 07A new analysis of public school enrollment data by the Pew Hispanic Center finds that in the dozen years from 1993-94 to 2005-06, white students became significantly less isolated from minority students while, at the same time, black and Hispanic students became slightly more isolated from white students.
Pew Hispanic Center

States Seek to Dampen Text Book Sticker Shock
Returning College Students May Get Some Pocketbook Protection at Campus Bookstores
29 Aug 07Returning college students may get some pocketbook relief at campus bookstores as states and university officials take aim at some publisher and faculty practices blamed for raising prices.
Stateline.org

Michael Vick Case Draws Large Audience
Opinions about Media Coverage Show Sharp Racial Divide
28 Aug 07The Atlanta Falcons quarterback's legal troubles were last week's most followed news. Opinions of media coverage of the story showed a sharp racial divide with blacks far more critical than whites.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Along the Iraq-Vietnam Parallel
A sharp partisan difference in public opinion separates the two war paths
28 Aug 07To many observers the most obvious parallel between the two conflicts is that, after early public support, disillusionment mounted as hostilities dragged on. But while the overall trajectory is similar, an important political difference distinguishes public attitudes toward the two wars.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

How the Public Resolves Conflicts Between Faith and Science
On Subjects such as Evolution, Many Americans Are Aware of -- but Reject -- the Scientific Consensus
27 Aug 07Polls show that Americans have a healthy respect for science. But what happens when scientific findings conflict with religious beliefs? In the case of evolution, religious people, who make up a majority of Americans, rely primarily on their faith for answers.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Beyond Foster Care
States Extend Help to 18-Year-Olds Facing Bleak Futures on Their Own
23 Aug 07States are trying to extend help to the growing number of "emancipated" parentless 18-year-olds who face bleak futures on their own.
Stateline.org

Who Watches Wall Street?
Interest in the Stock Market Is Currently Relatively High, but Only a Minority of Americans Regularly Follows Financial News
23 Aug 07Interest in the stock market is currently relatively high, but only a minority of Americans regularly follows economic news unless, like gas and food prices, it hits directly on the average pocketbook.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

A Study in Contrasts: Clinton and Guiliani
Hillary Scores High with Democrats, Less So with the General Public; Rudy Has Broad Appeal but Weaker GOP Support
23 Aug 07Sen. Hillary Clinton is by far the most popular presidential candidate among her own party's voters, but among the general public, she has one of the lowest favorable ratings of the leading candidates. In sharp contrast, the front-running Republican candidate, Rudy Giuliani, evokes relatively modest enthusiasm from the GOP base, but is as broadly popular with all voters as any candidate in either party.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Two Decades of American News Preferences
Part 2: News Interest across Decades and "News Eras"
22 Aug 07In the second of two parts, Pew Research Center consultant Michael Robinson analyzes data from 165 surveys on audience news preferences to examine news interest across decades and describe how the public's news interests have changed -- or not changed -- over different news eras.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Religion and the Presidential Vote: A Tale of Two Gaps
21 Aug 07An analysis of national exit polls from 2004 shows there is not one but two religion gaps -- one based on religious affiliation and the other based on frequency of attendance at worship services. How did the gaps manifest themselves in the 2004 election and what are the possible implications for 2008?
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

1995-2005: Foreign-Born Latinos Make Progress on Wages
21 Aug 07Foreign-born Latino workers made notable progress between 1995 and 2005 when ranked by hourly wage. The proportion of foreign-born Latino workers in the lowest quintile of the wage distribution decreased to 36% from 42% while many workers moved into the middle quintiles.
Pew Hispanic Center

Minnesota Takes the Lead in E-Cycling
21 Aug 07Five state legislatures took steps this year to curb the threat of toxic waste created by the proliferation of discarded computer gear and other digital junk, making 2007 a banner year for passage of electronic recycling laws.
Stateline.org

Democrats Debate in Iowa
20 Aug 07Sunday morning all eight Democratic candidates for president met at Drake University in Iowa. How did their views on issues ranging from Iraq to money in politics match up with public opinion data?
Pew Research Center

Presidential Campaign Overtakes Iraq as Media's Top Story
A Quarterly Report of the PEJ News Coverage Index
20 Aug 07The 2008 Presidential campaign -- with its crowded field and accelerated timetable -- emerged as the leading story in the American news media in the second quarter of 2007, supplanting the policy debate over Iraq.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

States Let Adult Kids Stay on Parents' Insurance
15 Aug 07Legislatures in eight states voted this spring to require insurers to let adult children stay on their parents' health insurance, even after the traditional cut-off dates on a child's 18th birthday or college graduation.
Stateline.org

Presidential Campaign Isn't Making a Good First Impression
Older Men, Better Educated More Likely to Be Critical
15 Aug 07The 2008 presidential campaign already seems to be wearing out its welcome with many Americans. A 52% majority of the public offers a negative assessment of the early-blooming campaign and just one-in-five has a kind thing to say.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Two Decades of American News Preferences
15 Aug 07Despite dramatic structural changes in the news media since the 1980s, the interests of news audiences have changed very little over the past several decades. Disaster News and Money News have been at the top of the charts throughout, while Tabloid News and Foreign News have been at the bottom. In this first of two reports, Pew Research Center consultant Michael Robinson analyzes data from 165 surveys on audience preferences taken by the PRC (and predecessor organizations) since 1986.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Democrats Address Gay Community
10 Aug 07On Thursday night six Democratic presidential candidates came together for a debate on issues important to the gay community. Candidates took on issues from gay marriage to "don't ask don't tell" and addressed a party whose rank-and-file hold ambivalent positions on some issues of concern to gays.
Pew Research Center

Internet News Audience Highly Critical of News Organizations
Views of Press Values and Performance: 1985-2007
9 Aug 07Americans continue to fault news organizations for a number of perceived failures. Solid majorities criticize the news media for political bias, inaccuracy and failing to acknowledge mistakes. Some of the harshest indictments of the press come from the growing segment that relies on the internet as its main news source.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Small Audience For Murdoch's Dow Jones Deal, Few Expect Change
9 Aug 07A majority of Americans who are following the story of publisher Rupert Murdoch's purchase of the Wall Street Journal say the sale will have little or no impact on the quality of the newspaper.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Democratic Candidates Labor to Win Union Support
Union Label
8 Aug 07Seven Democratic candidates met on Soldier Field in Chicago on Tuesday to address a predominantly union audience at a candidate forum sponsored by the AFL-CIO. How did candidate views stack up with public opinion?
Pew Research Center

Religion and International Diplomacy: A Ten-Year Progress Report
7 Aug 07Experts discuss the successes and shortcomings of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Are U.S. national interests advanced by the act, and should they be?
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Republicans Preach to the Base in Sunday Morning Debate
But Views Differ from Those of Political Independents, Democrats
6 Aug 07Less than a week before the Iowa straw poll, the nine Republican presidential candidates squared off in Des Moines. Candidate views generally mirrored those of the Republican rank-and-file, but were often at odds with the opinions of the general public.
Pew Research Center

A Summer of Discontent with Washington
Clinton Widens Lead, Giuliani Slips
2 Aug 07All three branches of the federal government are under fire from the American public. Just 29% approve of President Bush's job performance while the proportion with a favorable view of Congress has declined 12 percentage points since January. Even favorable opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court have fallen, from 72% in January to 57% currently.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Public Blames Media for Too Much Celebrity Coverage
Cable and Network TV Worst Offenders
2 Aug 07An overwhelming majority of the public (87%) says celebrity scandals receive too much news coverage; and most who say celebrity news is over-covered blame the media -- not the public.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Why it will Be Hard to Close the Broadband Divide
1 Aug 07The U.S. trails behind many countries in adopting broadband but narrowing the gap will be difficult.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Publisher Murdoch's U.S. Track Record
30 Jul 07In light of his apparently successful bid to buy Down Jones, what is Rupert Murdoch's record in the American newspaper business?
Project for Excellence in Journalism

States Forge Ahead on Immigration, Global Warming
30 Jul 07From the Iraq war to illegal immigrants to global warming, states are showing impatience with Washington, D.C., and are blazing new policies often contrary to the feds.
Stateline.org

Hillary Clinton Most Visible Presidential Candidate
Republicans Say Campaign is Being Over-Covered
26 Jul 07Hillary Clinton leads all Democrats with 42% of the public saying they have heard the most about her in the news lately.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Online Videos Go Mainstream
Most Internet Users -- and Three-in-Four Young Adults -- Now Watch Them
25 Jul 07Widespread deployment of broadband and a dramatic promotion push by content providers has helped pave the way for mainstream audiences to adopt online video viewing.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

States Work to Plug ‘Brain Drain'
25 Jul 07States in the Midwest and Northeast are struggling unsuccessfully to keep educated young people from moving elsewhere. In response, some states have mounted tourism-like marketing campaigns while others consider giving hefty tax breaks to in-state college students who stay after they graduate.
Stateline.org

Uploading Democracy: Candidates Field YouTube Questions
24 Jul 07Tuesday night's Democratic debate was widely anticipated for its groundbreaking format. Candidates took on a host of issues asked by citizens via YouTube videos; what follows is an analysis of the format and major themes of the debate as compared with public opinion data.
Pew Research Center

A Rising Tide Lifts Mood in the Developing World
Support for Suicide Bombing Drops Sharply in Muslim Countries
24 Jul 07Even in some countries where incomes are still low and life is tough, people tend to be happier with their lives -- if their economy is on the upswing. And, in Muslim countries, support for suicide bombing has declined sharply in recent years. Also, a commentary by Bruce Stokes analyzes factors contributing higher levels of happiness in many countries worldwide.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

The Latino Electorate: A Widening Gap between Voters and the Larger Hispanic Population in the U.S.
24 Jul 07Latinos made up a slightly larger share of the total voter turnout in the 2006 election than in 2002; but, a new Pew Hispanic analysis finds, the Latino vote continued to lag well behind growth of the Latino population primarily because a high percentage of the new Hispanics in the U.S. are either too young to vote or are not citizens.
Pew Hispanic Center

Who's Wild About Harry?
So Far, the Public Is More Interested in Buying the Book than in Reading about It
19 Jul 07The latest News Interest Index survey finds that, at least so far, most of the public isn't especially interested in news about the final installment in the Harry Potter series or the release of a new Potter movie; but an astounding number say they plan to buy Deathly Hallows when the book goes on sale on Saturday.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Is the Fairness Doctrine Fair Game?
A PEJ Backgrounder
19 Jul 07The rule requiring broadcasters to balance views aired on controversial subjects was repealed 20 years ago. Yet in recent weeks, debate about the Fairness Doctrine has re-emerged in media circles -- especially on talk radio.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Muslim Americans Report: Arabic Translation of Summary
18 Jul 07An Arabic translation of the summary of Pew's report on Muslim Americans
Pew Research Center

Florida is Test Bed for Medicaid Overhaul
18 Jul 07Halfway through a two-year test run, Florida's nationally acclaimed pilot program to introduce competition to its Medicaid program has met mixed success.
Stateline.org

Modern Marriage: "I Like Hugs. I Like Kisses. But What I Really Love is Help with the Dishes."
18 Jul 07What makes a marriage work? A new Pew survey finds that "sharing household chores" has moved way up on the charts.
Pew Research Center

In Search of a Way Out: Rethinking the Arab-Israeli Conflict
A Palestinian Scholar Discusses How a Solution Could Help Resolve the Larger Clash Between Islam and Christianity
12 Jul 07In an interview with the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, Palestinian scholar Sari Nusseibeh discusses ways in which a settlement could help resolve the larger tensions between Islam and other faiths.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Campaign Internet Videos: "Sopranos" Spoof vs. "Obama Girl"
Made for the Web but Viewed More on TV than Online
12 Jul 07They originate on the internet, but more people are viewing them on TV than online.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Are Candidate Web Sites Propaganda or News?
12 Jul 07Through their official websites, the campaigns themselves are challenging the press as a destination for news.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

China's Online Population Explosion
What It May Mean for the Internet Globally...and for U.S. Users
12 Jul 07The influx of tens of millions of new online participants each year can be expected to have far-reaching consequences for the people of China, for its government and economy, and for the United States and the world.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Fewer Mothers Prefer Full-time Work
From 1997 to 2007
12 Jul 07In the span of the past decade, full-time work outside the home has lost some of its appeal to mothers. This trend holds for both those who have such jobs and those who don't.
Pew Research Center

Same-Sex Marriage: Redefining Legal Unions Around the World
11 Jul 07In many countries around the globe, gay and lesbian couples are seeking the right to marry or enter into other legally recognized forms of domestic partnerships. The legal definition of marriage is in flux, particularly in the developed world.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

How Muslims Compare With Other Religious Americans
In Intensity of Religious Identity, Not Unlike Evangelicals
6 Jul 07Although Muslims constitute a small minority in the United States, in many ways, they stand out not so much for their differences as for their similarities with other religious groups, especially evangelicals.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Press Praised for Coverage of China's Product Problem
News Interest Survey Also Finds Public Mostly Relied on Traditional Media to Deliver the iPhone Message
6 Jul 07Most in public call news about safety issues involving Chinese imports accurate and appropriate in amount. Traditional media are also the main source of news about the latest in hi-tech communications: the iPhone.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

New State Laws as of July 1
Bad News for Body Dismemberers in Iowa, Brass-Knuckle Wearers in Mississippi; Good News for Grocery Buyers in Arkansas, Flag-Makers in Arizona
2 Jul 07The start of a new fiscal year in 46 states has activated a host of new laws bringing bad news for body dismemberers in Iowa and brass-knuckle wearers in Mississippi, but good news for grocery buyers in Arkansas and flag-makers in Arizona along with a host of other winners and losers.
Stateline.org

"Frequently Asked Questions" about Pew's Muslim American Survey
The Facts behind the Design, Conduct and Analysis of a High-Profile Study
2 Jul 07A recent report, "Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream," attracted a great deal of attention but also raised a number of questions about the research. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

As Marriage and Parenthood Drift Apart, Public Is Concerned about Social Impact
Generation Gap in Values, Behaviors
1 Jul 07At a time when nearly four-in-ten births in this country are to an unmarried mother, the public says unwed parenting is a big problem for society. But Americans are far less inclined now than a generation ago to say children are important to a successful marriage, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
Pew Research Center

Democrats Go Domestic: Analyzing the 6-28 Debate
A Comparison of the Candidates' Views with Those of the Public
29 Jun 07Before a predominantly black audience at Howard University, the eight candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination focused on issues of special interests to minorities including health care, education, taxes and racial discrimination.
Pew Research Center

Iraq Dominates News Landscape in First Half of 2007
Second String Stories Ranged from Politics and Crime to Pet Food and Celebrities, but the Public Stayed Tuned to Casualties and Troop Levels
29 Jun 07So far, the war in Iraq has eclipsed most other 2007news stories. Second string stories ranged from politics and crime to pet food and celebrities, but the public stayed primarily tuned to casualties and troop levels.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Ethanol Demand Outgrows Corn
The Limits of Food-Based Biofuels Are Already in Sight With Major Shifts in The Nation's Agricultural Markets
28 Jun 07Corn is king of renewable auto fuels, for now. But federal and state governments already are racing to find alternatives to corn as they look for ways to use ethanol to help break the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
Stateline.org

From the Ten Commandments to Christmas Trees: Public Religious Displays and the Courts
27 Jun 07As a supplement to a Pew Forum legal backgrounder, Prof. Robert W. Tuttle discusses how current law might apply in circumstances such as a recent religious display controversy in Louisiana.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Mean Teens Online: Forget Sticks and Stones, They've Got Mail
Older Girls and Social Networkers Are Most Likely Targets of Harassment via the Internet
27 Jun 07Forget sticks and stones, today's teenagers have got the web at their command and about a third of those online tell a new Pew Internet survey that they have been targets of annoying and potentially menacing online activities.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Who Flies the Flag? Not Always Who You Might Think
A Closer Look at Patriotism
27 Jun 07For many Americans, demonstrating patriotism means showing the flag; overall, 62% say they do so. Notably, significantly more Northeasterners and Midwesterners fly the flag than do residents of the South or the West.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Global Unease with Major World Powers and Leaders
47-Nation Pew Global Attitudes Survey Finds Rising Environmental Concerns
27 Jun 07A new survey finds continuing anti-American sentiment and significant slippage in China's image among the publics of other major nations. Concern about environmental degradation as a major threat to the planet has increased substantially in 20 of 35 countries for which trends are available.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

Capital Punishment's Constant Constituency: An American Majority
26 Jun 07Beginning with its temporary moratorium on the death penalty 35 years ago this month, the Supreme Court has changed its view of capital punishment more than once. The public, however, has not.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Religious Republicans: Hanging Tough with Bush
GOP Presidential Candidates May Still Need Strong Backing from Church-Going Conservatives
22 Jun 07A dilemma for GOP Presidential Candidates: They're distancing themselves from Bush, but may still need strong backing from his faithful church-going supporters.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Embryonic Stem Cell Research Divides States
President Bush's second veto of federal funding puts the issue squarely in states' hands
21 Jun 07President Bush's decision to again veto legislation allowing federal funding puts the issue squarely in states' hands – and some states are already vying to lure scientists and investors.
Stateline.org

Missing in Action: News Coverage of Private Contract Forces in Iraq
Limited, Intermittent Reporting Leaves a Major Story of the War Largely Uncovered
21 Jun 07Extensive reliance in the Iraq conflict on military forces hired by private firms is a significant new element in 21St Century warfare. But what does the American public know about this phenomenon?
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Why Change the Channel?
Network News is All the Same, Cable Networks Are More Distinct
20 Jun 07For most of the public, broadcast network news is all the same. Not so cable news: Nearly half the public sees real differences among CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Bloomberg Well Known, But of Limited Appeal for Now
20 Jun 07Michael Bloomberg has created some excitement in the political world about a possible run for the presidency by dropping his Republican affiliation. But a recent nationwide Pew voter survey found that while the New York mayor is relatively well known, his appeal is very modest at this point.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Don't Blame Me: It's the Phone's Fault!
Many Internet and Cell Phone Users Find Devices and Applications Too Complicated or Hardly Worth the Trouble
20 Jun 07Many internet and cell phone users find devices and applications too complicated or hardly worth the trouble. Here are some ideas to address those problems.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Are Americans out of Sync with Economic Reality?
They're Far More Optimistic then the Experts about the Housing Market but Much More Pessimistic about the Overall Economy
20 Jun 07Americans are far more optimistic than most real estate experts about the outlook for home prices but far more pessimistic than most economists and Wall Street watchers about the overall economic outlook.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

How Serious Is Polling's Cell-Only Problem?
The Landline-less Are Different and Their Numbers Are Growing Fast
20 Jun 07The landline-less are different from regular telephone users in many of their opinions and their numbers are growing fast. Can survey researchers meet this challenge?
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

What's Missing from National RDD Surveys? The Impact of the Growing Cell-Only Population
20 Jun 07The number of cell-phone-only households has continued to grow -- 12.8% of all households by the end of 2006, according to the National Health Interview Survey. While the noncoverage problem is currently not damaging estimates for the entire population, a study finds evidence that it does create biased estimates on certain variables for young adults, 25% of whom are cell-only.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Did Talk Hosts Help Derail the Immigration Bill?
PEJ's Index Finds that in Weeks Preceding the Senate Vote Failure, Immigration was the Second-Most Popular Talk Topic and that Critics of the Legislation Dominated the Airwaves
18 Jun 07PEJ's Talk Show Index finds immigration was the second-most popular topic from May 13-June 8, and airwaves discussion was dominated by hosts opposed to the legislation who often referred to it with the politically damning term "amnesty bill."
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Support for '08 Presidential Candidates among Religious Groups
18 Jun 07The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life examines the support for the 2008 presidential candidates among some religious groups, including white evangelical Protestants, white mainline Protestants and non-Hispanic Catholics.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Govs to Grads: Goodbye and Good Luck!
14 Jun 07Like any graduating class, the crop of governors giving commencement addresses in 2007 had its own standouts.
Stateline.org

Being Dad May Be Tougher These Days, but Working Moms are among Their Biggest Fans
13 Jun 07Most people agree that it is harder to be a father now than it was 20 or 30 years ago, yet the verdict is mixed on how well today's dads measure up -- about half of the public says they're doing a worse job when compared with fathers a generation ago. But, a majority (56%) of women say today's dads are handling their fatherly duties as well or better than in the past.
Social & Demographic Trends

The Darwin Debate
20 Years after a Landmark Supreme Court Decision, Americans Are Still Fighting About Evolution
13 Jun 07Twenty years after a landmark Supreme Court decision, Americans are still fighting over the teaching of creationism and other alternatives to evolution in the nation's schools.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Mixed Grades for a Federal Education Law
No Child Left Behind Builds No Consensus Among the Public About Either Its Strong or Weak Points
13 Jun 07As Congress prepares to debate reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, Americans express mixed views about the nation's signature education law. Among those who have heard about the law, 34% say it has made schools better; 26% say it has made them worse; and 32% say it has had no impact.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

A Spiritual Network in Cyberspace
Beliefnet.com Proves a Successful Model for Combining Journalism and Networking
11 Jun 07If Beliefnet is not exactly a household name, it is an interesting experiment in online journalism. For one thing, its own turbulent history in some ways reflects the trajectory of the internet itself. For another, the strategy it has settled on -- a subject specific site that offers interactivity, networking and journalistic even-handedness -- may offer one working blueprint for the rapidly evolving field of Web information.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Legal Backgrounder: The Supreme Court Charts a New Direction on Abortion Jurisprudence in Gonzales v. Carhart
11 Jun 07A Pew Forum legal backgrounder examines the new direction in jurisprudence charted by the Supreme Court's April 2007 ruling that the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act does not violate the constitutional right to abortion.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Legislators Balance the Books, Head Home
8 Jun 07In an exclusive roundup of legislation that has emerged from state capitols in 2007, Stateline.org finds -- on issues ranging from civil unions to "living wages" -- Democrats are making their mark now that the party is in control of 28 governorships and 23 statehouses. Policymakers in Washington, D.C., may get more attention, but the action is in the states.
Stateline.org

Public Wants to Know More about Darfur and Many Favor U.S. Involvement
7 Jun 07As world leaders gather in Germany for the annual G-8 meeting, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur will be high on their agenda. Pew's latest surveys find nearly half of Americans believing the United States has a moral obligation to do something about the ethnic genocide there, and a modest plurality thinking the U.S. should send troops.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Mixed Views on Immigration Bill
Democratic Leaders Face Growing Disapproval, Criticism on Iraq
7 Jun 07The public is ambivalent about the immigration bill being debated in the Senate, but a majority favors one of its key goals - providing a way for illegal aliens to become citizens. The public supports such a provision even when it is described as "amnesty," a new Pew survey finds.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Governors Expect Tighter Budgets in 2008
6 Jun 07Only three states ran into red ink this year, while more than half sailed through with higher-than-expected revenues. States overall are finishing a spending spree, but the best revenue picture in six years may be behind them.
Stateline.org

¡Here Come 'Los Evangélicos'!
6 Jun 07Next week's National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. illustrates the growing presence and increasing political influence of Latino evangelicals. If Republicans have a prayer of making deep inroads into the Hispanic community, evangelicals may well provide their most direct route.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

The 6-5-07 Republican Debate: Comparing Candidate Views with Public Opinion
6 Jun 07Ten candidates for the 2008 Republican nomination for president squared off last night in a debate held in New Hampshire. Here is a run-down of how their views on key issues stacked up against the attitudes of the general public and of self-identified Republicans, Democrats and independents, as measured by recent Pew Research Center surveys.
Pew Research Center

How Far Behind in Math and Reading are English Language Learners?
6 Jun 07As Congress considers reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, a new analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center of national standardized tests shows that the one-in-ten public school students designated as "English language learners" lag far behind whites in reading and math.
Pew Hispanic Center

Study Finds Dramatic Math, Reading Gains
5 Jun 07A new analysis of state (as opposed to national) test results show dramatic improvements since passage of the NCLB Act five years ago, but it's too early to tell if the gains are linked to the law, a new report finds.
Stateline.org

Thompson Demonstrates Broad Potential Appeal
Bush Approval Falls to 29% -- Lowest Ever
5 Jun 07A new Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey finds broad potential appeal among Republicans for the all-but-announced candidacy of former Sen. Fred Thompson; meantime President Bush's approval rating has sunk to an all-time low of 29%.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

The 6-3-07 Democratic Debate: Comparing Candidate Views with Public Opinion
4 Jun 07Eight candidates for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president squared off Sunday night in New Hampshire. Here is a run-down of how their views on key issues stacked up against the attitudes of the general public and of self-identified Democrats, Republicans and independents.
Pew Research Center

Political Divide in Views of Campaign Coverage
Public Wants More Coverage on Issues, Less on Fundraising
1 Jun 07About half the public believes that press coverage of 2008 presidential candidates has been fair, but there are partisan differences in these evaluations. A plurality of Republicans say the press has been too easy on Democratic candidates.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Civil Unions Spread, But Gays Want to Wed
31 May 07New Hampshire today became the fourth state in the nation (joining Vermont, Connecticut and New Jersey) to enact a same-sex civil union law, but gay activists continue to press for so-called marriage equality.
Stateline.org

A Slower Flow from Mexico?
Indicators Suggest a Recent Slowing of Migration across the U.S. Border
30 May 07While short-term changes in immigration flows are difficult to measure, several indicators suggest a possible slackening in migration across the U.S. border since mid-2006.
Pew Hispanic Center

Gas Prices Grab the Public's Attention
Interest in News about Inflation at the Pump Goes Beyond Just Knowing Where to Find the Cheapest Gallon
30 May 07Interest in news about inflation at the pump goes beyond learning where to find the cheapest gallon and extends to impacts on the national economy.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

A Six-Day War: Its Aftermath in American Public Opinion
For 40 years, public opinion has consistently favored Israel over the Palestinians
30 May 07For 40 years since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the U.S. public has sympathized more with Israel than with the Palestinians almost regardless of the news of the day, through the making and collapse of peace agreements and attacks and reprisals by all sides.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Baker-Hamilton Redux
The U.S. public remains enthusiastic about the bipartisan proposals
29 May 07Four months after the bipartisan Iraq Study Group proposed a number of new policy options for dealing with the Iraq conflict, these proposals remain broadly popular with the public.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

A Quarter's Worth of News Coverage
Project for Excellence in Journalism's Analysis Finds Iraq War Coverage Mostly about the U.S., 2008 Presidential Campaign Coverage Mostly about Democrats
25 May 07Three-month review of media finds Iraq coverage was mostly about the U.S., while 2008 campaign coverage was mostly about Democrats.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Florida's Fast Break Accelerates Presidential Primary Stampede
23 May 07The state's leapfrog move further complicates an already chaotic presidential primary process.
Stateline.org

Adjusting to a Diet of Spam
23 May 07As more of the stuff finds its way into Americans' personal and workplace email accounts, internet users find it easier to digest.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Growing Up With the News
Most Parents Encourage Teenagers to Follow Current Events, Though Younger Children Are Often Shielded
23 May 07In an era when war, tragedy and scandal often dominate the headlines, America's parents are more likely to encourage children to follow the news than they are to shield them from it.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Four-in-Ten Americans Have Close Friends or Relatives Who are Gay
Survey finds Familiarity Is Closely Linked to Greater Tolerance
23 May 07A new survey also finds that those with homosexual or lesbian relatives or friends are more likely to accept gay marriage and oppose the firing of gay teachers.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream
22 May 07The first-ever, nationwide, random sample survey of Muslim Americans finds them to be largely assimilated, happy with their lives, and moderate with respect to many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world.
Pew Research Center

Who's Watching American Idol?
Relatively Few Worship Regularly at the Top TV Show's Altar
17 May 07In spite of the fact that the show has topped the television ratings throughout the season, as American Idol Season 6 comes to a close the latest news interest survey finds three-quarters of the public paying little or no attention to it.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Rev. Falwell's Moral Majority: Mission Accomplished?
17 May 07When the late Rev. Jerry Falwell disbanded the Moral Majority in 1989, he declared that "our mission is accomplished." If Falwell meant that evangelical Christians had come to accept the idea that organized religion should play an activist role in the political process, his claim of success is well-supported by public opinion surveys.
Pew Research Center

An Evolving Debate about Evolution
Long a Source of Controversy in States and Localities, Darwin's Theory Has Moved to the National Level
16 May 07The evolution controversy, traditionally a state and local issue, has vaulted into the national political arena, making a surprise appearance at the first Republican presidential candidate debate on May 3 and garnering a large amount of press attention
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Deconstructing the Debate 5/15/07
How Well Did the GOP Candidates' Views Match Those of Their Party's Members and of the General Public?
16 May 07A review of recent polling reveals that on most -- though not all issues -- the candidates are in tune with the majority of Republicans, but somewhat at odds with the broader public.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

In Focus: Mormonism in Modern America
Two Leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Discuss The Tenets of Their Faith and its Role in Today's Political Life
16 May 07Thanks in part to a Republican presidential hopeful, a TV documentary and Hollywood movies, the Mormon church is in the spotlight. Two senior authorities discuss the church's role in American society and political life.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Presidential Politics and Mormon Faith
16 May 07Surveys show strong public misgivings about the religion and some 30% of the public say they are less likely to support a Mormon presidential candidate.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Global Schism: Is the Anglican Divide the First Stage in a Wider Christian Split?
14 May 07At the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle Conference in Key West, Prof. Philip Jenkins argued that the current fracture in the Episcopal church over attitudes toward homosexuality may be the first battle in a much larger war and that churches worldwide may face a North-South schism.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Have National Guard Deployments in Iraq Eroded States' Disaster Response Capability?
Kansas' Problems in Helping Tornado Victims Less Severe than Initially Claimed
10 May 07The tornado that tore apart Greensburg, Kan., dramatized what could happen when a state's equipment is thousands of miles away in Iraq. But it now seems that Kansas' problems in rushing aid to the disaster scene weren't as acute as the governor first implied.
Stateline.org

Public Chows Down on Pet Food Recall
Only Iraq War Leads in News Interest; Queen and Tenet Lag Far Behind
9 May 07The recall of more than 100 brands of pet food due to possible contamination was the second most closely followed news story last week. Only events in Iraq attracted more public interest.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Are Americans Ready to Elect a Female President?
Past Statewide Elections Suggest Gender Is Not an Obstacle -- at Least for Democratic Candidates
9 May 07When evaluating Sen. Hillary Clinton's 2008 prospects, one question remains inescapable: Are American voters ready to pick a female president? A review of exit polls in statewide elections suggests that, at least for Democratic candidates, being a woman is not an obstacle.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Closeness to Troops Boosts Support for War -- but Not By Much
9 May 07Those with close contacts to servicemembers in Iraq or Afghanistan tend to be more supportive of the Iraq war but their differences with those who are not closely connected are relatively modest.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

God at Graduation
What Courts Have Ruled about Prayers and Other Religious Expressions at School Commencements
9 May 07Spring is the season for school graduations, and graduation ceremonies play a featured role in the national debate over the place of religion in public education. Is a clergyman's benediction at a public school event a violation of the separation of church and state? Can students lead a prayer at their school commencement?
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

A Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users
7 May 07The advent of Web 2.0 invites users to participate in the commons of cyberspace. Yet little is known about which segments of the population are inclined to make robust use of the new technologies and which aren't. Using data from a new survey, the Pew Internet & American Life project has developed a typology of people's relationship to information and communications technology.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Can Secular Democracy Survive in Turkey?
Turmoil over a Presidential Choice Highlights Turks' Concerns about Religious Influence in Political Life
4 May 07By nominating an observant Muslim for the Turkish presidency, Prime Minister Erdogan inadvertently highlighted deep-rooted tensions about the role of religion in the nation's political life.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

The GOP's Invisible Men
Democratic Candidates Dominate the News
2 May 07Heading into their first debate Thursday evening, what Republican candidates for the presidency need most is to gain visibility. The latest News Interest Index survey finds Clinton and Obama are far more visible, even to Republicans.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Motherhood Today: Tougher Challenges, Less Success
Mom's Biggest Critics are Middle-Aged Women
2 May 07From managing busy schedules to dealing with outside influences, mothers have their hands full these days - and middle-aged women are their sharpest critics. At the same time, fully 70% of the public says it's harder to be a mother today than it was 20 or 30 years ago; somewhat fewer (60%) say the same about being a father.
Social & Demographic Trends

Surge in Support for Social Safety Net
Sympathy for the Poor and for Government Aid Programs Returns to 1980s Levels
2 May 07Support for government programs to help disadvantaged Americans, as well as sympathy for the plight of the poor, have surged since 1994 and returned to levels last seen in 1990 prior to welfare reform, with gains occurring among virtually every major social, political and demographic group.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

The Republicans Can't Possibly Win in '08...or Can They?
2 May 07Indicators of voter sentiment suggest most of the public wants change and may likely vote Democratic next year. Are aspirants for the GOP nomination wasting their time? Don't be too sure.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Abortion Ruling Sets New State Battle Lines
30 Apr 07Prompted by the U.S. Supreme Court's approval of a federal ban on partial-birth abortion, activists on both sides of the abortion battle are aiming their sights at state capitols, where new campaigns already are under way.
Stateline.org

States Wax Fluorescent
26 Apr 07Lawmakers in at least seven states want to ban ordinary light bulbs in favor of longer-lasting, energy-efficient compact fluorescents.
Stateline.org

Campaign '08: Analysis of Key Voter Groups
Solid Majority Favors Troop Withdrawal, But Both Sides Reject Compromise over Iraq Funding
26 Apr 07Who's most inspiring? Who's most electable? Find out how liberals and conservatives, war supporters and opponents and other segments of the electorate rate the presidential candidates. Also, a solid majority of the public favors troop withdrawal, but both sides reject compromise over Iraq funding.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Blacksburg Tragedy Draws Close Public Attention, but Less Than Columbine Did Eight Years Ago
25 Apr 07Fully 45% of Americans paid very close attention to the Va. Tech shootings but more than two-thirds of Americans (68%) paid very close attention to the Columbine incident in 1999.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Changing Faiths: Latinos and the Transformation of American Religion
25 Apr 07Hispanics are altering the profile of American religion by their growing numbers and by their distinctive practice of Christianity. A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life also finds Latinos' influence on U.S. politics and public affairs is strongly affected by the particular characteristics of their faith.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and Pew Hispanic Center

Wikipedia: When in Doubt, Multitudes Seek It Out
The online, citizen-generated encyclopedia is especially popular among the well-educated and the college-aged
24 Apr 07The online, citizen-generated encyclopedia draws more visitors on a typical day than internet shopping, dating, travel booking, chat rooms or auctions -- especially among the well-educated and college-aged.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Va. Tech Shootings Produce Little Boost for Gun Control
Public Also Divided About Causes of Massacre
23 Apr 07Six-in-ten Americans say it is more important to control gun ownership, while 32% give priority to protecting Americans' right to own guns. But a 55% majority opposes a ban on the sale of handguns.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Pope to Visit 'Pentecostalized' Brazil
Survey Shows Growing Movement Threatens Catholic Dominance
19 Apr 07When Benedict XVI arrives in Sao Paolo, he will encounter a country where, a Pew survey finds, the rapid growth of pentecostal sects along with increasing secularism are threatening Catholicism's historic dominance.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

High Court Decision Could Raise Abortion's Profile in Campaign
19 Apr 07Although the court did not entirely eliminate the health exception, Wednesday's 5-4 Supreme Court decision upholding a federal law banning a controversial abortion procedure probably made the waiver less meaningful. This will almost certainly energize both sides in the abortion debate and put pressure on presidential contenders to take clearer positions on the issue.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Events in Iraq Top Don Imus in News Interest
18 Apr 07The war in Iraq continued to attract broad public attention, despite drawing far less news coverage than the Imus flap. Overall, 26% of Americans cited the war as the story they followed most closely, compared with 20% who followed the Imus story most closely.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Most Say Imus's Punishment Was Appropriate
18 Apr 07A new survey finds that Americans generally agree with the punishment radio host Don Imus received for the racist and sexist remarks he made about the Rutgers University's women basketball team. Nonetheless, there are substantial racial differences in views of Imus's punishment, and the media's coverage of the story.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Teens, Privacy & Online Social Networks
Managing online identities and personal information in the age of MySpace
18 Apr 07A new survey and a series of focus groups, conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, study teens' online management of their personal information on social networking websites. The study suggests that internet life poses some potential risks for online teens, e.g. 32% (and 43% of social-networking teens) have been contacted by complete strangers.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

After the Tragedy: Va. Tech Shootings Revive Debate over Gun Control
17 Apr 07The rampage at the Blacksburg, Va., campus touched a nerve over gun safety on college campuses, including among Virginia lawmakers who had recently sparred over a firearms ban.
Stateline.org

Assessing the Imus Mess
12 Apr 07Even before Don Imus got the word that MSNBC and CBS had dropped him, a quick survey of the media coverage in the week since the veteran talk host uttered his infamous April 4 racial and gender insult suggests he will face a tough battle to re-establish his reputation and viability.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Money Walks
Republicans Are Losing Ground among the Affluent, Too
12 Apr 07The Republican Party has traditionally garnered it strongest backing from wealthier voters. But the recent overall decline in Republican Party affiliation nationwide has taken a toll even on GOP support among affluent voters.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

The Immigration Divide
Reform is a Potential Wedge Issue for Both Republicans and Democrats
12 Apr 07With his renewed push for a comprehensive immigration bill, President Bush is advancing a potentially powerful political wedge issue, but one with an unlikely twist: Immigration fractures the president's own party at least as much as it divides the opposition.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

The Culture War and the Coming Election
At the moment no hot-button issue looms but events could change that quickly
11 Apr 07No hot-button issue currently dominates in the presidential campaigns, but court decisions and other events could change that quickly.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Vouchers See Mixed Success This Session
9 Apr 07After a string of successes, voucher advocates see setbacks in this year's legislative session.
Stateline.org

Iraq Tops News Interest - and Anna Holds Her Own
Despite Media Focus on British Hostages in Iran, War News Draws More Public Attention and Ms. Smith's Autopsy Scores Big
5 Apr 07While the media focused more on British sailors held in Iran and the US attorneys scandal, news from Iraq remains the public's clear priority. The core Anna Nicole Smith audience remains as large as in February, despite far more limited press coverage.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

News Leaks Remain Divisive, but Libby Case Has Little Impact
Unauthorized Disclosures to Media Seen as Motivated More by Personal than Political Reasons
5 Apr 07Attitudes towards news leaks are virtually the same now as in 1986, with the public about evenly split between those who say leaks serve the public interest and those who say they harm it.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Who Do You Trust for War News?
The Public Now Puts Little Confidence in the Descriptions of Iraq Provided by Either the Military or the Press
5 Apr 07Four years into the Iraq war, most Americans say they have little or no confidence in the information they receive -- from either the military or the media -- about how things are going on the ground.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Cruising for News: The State of Digital Journalism
PEJ's Annual State of the Media Report Provides an Interactive Assessment
5 Apr 07The Project for Excellence in Journalism's State of the Media Report provides an interactive tool to help users understand news options available on the Web.
Pew Research Center

The NRA's Image Improves as Support for Gun Control Slips
4 Apr 07Surveys taken before the Virginia Tech shootings showed that Americans had become less disposed to support gun control measures than they were in the years surrounding the Columbine school shootings in 1999.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Quick Cancer Vaccine Mandate Stirs Controversy
2 Apr 07The new cervical cancer vaccine has ignited debate over teen sex, lobbying and the role of states in mandating vaccines as well as some medical concerns.
Stateline.org

Giuliani, McCain Lead Among Evangelical Republicans
23% Still Undecided
2 Apr 07The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life debuts its newly redesigned website with an early look at white evangelical Republicans and their candidate preferences for the 2008 presidential campaign. White evangelicals who are Republicans or Republican leaners divide their support between Rudolph Giuliani and John McCain.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Democrats Fail to Impress in First 100 Days
Post-Walter Reed, Government Faulted on Vets' Care, Military Ratings Slip
29 Mar 07As the Democratic-led Congress approaches the 100-day mark, pluralities approve of House Speaker Pelosi's and Senate Majority Leader Reid's leadership. But Democrats get mixed reviews on campaign promises and policies and proposals.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Growing Share of Immigrants Choosing Naturalization
28 Mar 07Today's legal immigrants are signing on to a closer relationship with Uncle Sam more quickly and at higher rates than was the case a decade or two ago.
Pew Hispanic Center

States Say No to Teen Tanning
Utah and Virginia Join 25 Other States in Limiting Underage Access to Bronzing Beds - Is There a 'Personal Right to Tan'?
27 Mar 07Spurred by worries about skin cancer, Utah and Virginia have joined 25 other states in limiting underage access to bronzing beds
Stateline.org

Solid Majority Favors Congressional Troop Deadline
Some rise in optimism about current Iraq situation, but only 36% think surge will work in the long-run
26 Mar 0740% now say the situation in Iraq is going fairly or very well but nearly six in ten want their representative to vote for a withdrawal deadline and only 36% think the U.S. troop buildup will work.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Strange Bedfellows: Why Are Some Religious Groups Defending 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus'?
26 Mar 07A recent Supreme Court case involving the free speech rights of students is producing some very unusual alliances. Christian conservative groups, such as the American Center for Law and Justice and the Christian Legal Society, are defending a student who was punished by his high school principal for holding up a sign that read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus."
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Trends in Attitudes Toward Religion and Social Issues: 1987-2007
22 Mar 07As the '08 elections approach, what are the views of Republicans, Democrats and the general public on "social values" issues? And how have they changed over time?
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Nigeria's Presidential Election: The Christian-Muslim Divide
22 Mar 07The campaign leading up to the election is a reminder of the sharp Christian-Muslim divide in Africa's most populous country.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007
Political Landscape More Favorable To Democrats
22 Mar 07Increased public support for the social safety net, signs of growing public concern about income inequality, and a diminished appetite for assertive national security policies have improved the political landscape for the Democrats as the 2008 presidential campaign gets underway.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Iraq and Vietnam: A Crucial Difference in Opinion
The Military's Prestige Remains High despite Discontent with War
22 Mar 07While public opinion about the war in Iraq has followed a path not unlike that charted during the Vietnam War, one important disparity stands out: attitudes toward the military.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Death Penalty on Hold
Role of Doctors in Lethal Injections Is Forcing Reexamination of Capital Punishment in Many States
21 Mar 07After 897 executions by lethal injection over the past 25 years, the role of doctors in carrying out the death penalty is surfacing as the latest ethical issue to force a re-examination of capital punishment in the United States.
Stateline.org

Trends in Public Opinion about the War in Iraq, 2003-2007
15 Mar 07On the fourth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the public has turned against the decision to use military force. But views of how the military effort is going, while now decidedly negative, have been more volatile, and Americans have been slow to conclude that U.S. troops should be withdrawn.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Sowing the Wind, Reaping the Electricity
Iowa's New Energy Source: Compressed Air in Underground Caverns
14 Mar 07In a sci-fi approach to providing clean energy, a consortium of Iowa power companies is planning to fill a big underground hole with pressurized air which would then be released to generate electricity.
Stateline.org

Latinos Online
They're a lot less likely to use the internet, but lower education levels and limited English ability largely explain the gap between Hispanics and non-Hispanics in the U.S.
14 Mar 07A new joint report from the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that low levels of education and limited English ability largely explain the gap in internet use between Hispanics and non-Hispanics living in the U.S.
Pew Internet & American Life Project and Pew Hispanic Center

State of the American News Media, 2007: Mainstream Media Go Niche
Project for Excellence in Journalism Report Finds Every TV News Component Losing Audience
12 Mar 07The Project for Excellence in Journalism's fourth annual report finds every sector of TV news lost audience in 2006. Newspapers, while garnering larger audiences for their content via online platforms, faced more downbeat financial assessments.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Which Governor Has the Most Clout?
Massachusetts' Chief Executive Out-Powers His Peers in Alaska, Maryland, and New Jersey -- Not to Mention New York and California
9 Mar 07In a new ranking of the states, Massachusetts' chief executive out-powers his peers in Alaska, Maryland and New Jersey -- not to mention New York and California.
Stateline.org

Top Journalists Less Widely Admired Than 20 Years Ago
Fragmented Media Diminishes Prominence of Stars
8 Mar 07Only a slim majority can now name the journalist they admire most and the preferences are scattered across the networks, cable news channels, public television and even Comedy Central.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Foreign Policy: The Public Sends a Muddled Message
No Clear Directions for Policymakers
8 Mar 07Opinion surveys find much in the way of public frustration, but little in the way of direction on the international and military front.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

A Verdict on the Media's Verdict on the Libby Trial
Not Guilty of Overt Celebration
8 Mar 07The jury has spoken in the perjury and obstruction trial of Scooter Libby that so intimately involved the journalism profession itself. We know the vice-president's former top aide was found guilty. But who and what else did the media implicate in its post-verdict coverage?
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Construction Jobs Expand for Latinos Despite Slump in Housing Market
Foreign-Born Fill Vast Majority of New Jobs
7 Mar 07Despite the housing slump, Hispanic workers find a ready market for their skills.
Pew Hispanic Center

How the Press Described that 400 Point Drop in the Dow
1 Mar 07"Correction" edged out "plunge" as the most used term, according to a Project for Excellence in Journalism search of stories on Google News for Feb. 27 and Feb. 28.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Anna Nicole Audience Praises Press Coverage
1 Mar 07Even though most Americans (61%) think Anna Nicole Smith's death has been over-covered, the press gets high marks from that portion of the public (more than a third) who are following the story closely. Two-thirds of this group rate the coverage as good or excellent – better marks than the press receives from the audiences of any of the other top stories of the past week. This is in line with poll findings about previous tabloid stories: their core audiences think the press does a great job of covering them.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Gay Marriage Ripe for Court Decisions in Three States
1 Mar 07A Stateline.org backgrounder examines the issue of gay marriage three years after a historic Massachusetts court ruling legalized same-sex marriage in the state. All eyes are now on the highest courts in California, Connecticut and Maryland, where decisions on the constitutionality of gay marriage are likely this year.
Stateline.org

Same-Sex Marriage in California: Legal and Political Prospects
28 Feb 07Experts debate a pending state Supreme Court decision and the larger societal issues involved.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

The World of Wireless Widens
A Third of Internet Users Now Opt for "Relentless Connectivity"
26 Feb 07Some 34% of internet users have logged onto the internet using a wireless connection. Users of wireless access show deeper engagement with cyberspace -- at least when focusing on two basic online activities, email and news.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Voters Remain In Neutral As Presidential Campaign Moves Into High Gear
Republicans Lag in Engagement and Enthusiasm for Candidates
23 Feb 07Latest Pew poll finds Republicans lagging Democrats in attention to the race and enthusiasm for candidates. Clinton is Democrats' strongest choice but Obama leads among independents; Giuliani tops McCain in popularity among Republicans and independents.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Cell Phone Counter-Revolution
State legislators seek to bar electronic distractions
22 Feb 07To keep lawmakers focused on debate -- and limit lobbyists' influence -- statehouses from coast to coast are restricting cell phones, instant messaging and use of those mini-computers found under the thumbs of compulsive e-mailers on the floors of state legislatures.
Stateline.org

Americans and Social Trust: Who, Where and Why
22 Feb 07Just under half of Americans say most people can be trusted, while 50% say you can't be too careful, a new Pew survey finds. Whites are more trusting than blacks or Hispanics. High income folks are more trusting than those with low incomes. The married are more trusting than the unmarried. The old are more trusting than the young. And rural folks are more trusting than their city cousins.
Pew Research Center

Too Much Anna Nicole, But the Saga Attracts an Audience
Pew Launches Weekly News Interest Index
16 Feb 07Comparisons between Pew's new gauge of public interest in the week's news and the PEJ's News Coverage Index find the public and the press often in agreement about the most important news stories.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

War Support Slips, Fewer See Positive Outcome
New Poll Also Finds Growing Pessimism about Deficit, Rich-Poor Gap
15 Feb 07Two-thirds of the public now says that the U.S. military effort in Iraq is not going well, reflecting a sharp increase in the last year. And most say the country is also losing ground in problem areas from the federal budget to corruption to the environment.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

How Many Kids Will Congress Cover?
15 Feb 07The federally assisted State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) has substantially reduced the number of American children without health coverage; advocates in Congress and governors of both parties, see the program as the foundation for universal health coverage. But the Bush administration is calling for cutbacks.
Stateline.org

How Reliable Are the Early Presidential Polls?
14 Feb 07As the number of declared presidential candidates grows, followers of early poll readings should bear in mind some caveats. Early frontrunners for the Republican nomination in most of the past seven open contests have gone on to win the nomination, but this year there are two GOP frontrunners instead of one clear leader. On the Democratic side, even when there is a clear frontrunner as there is this year with Sen. Hillary Clinton, the early polls have been less reliable in predicting who will capture the nomination.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Primary Scramble Prompts Calls to Slow Down
12 Feb 07The scramble among states to move up their presidential primaries next year has renewed calls from a number of the nation's chief election officers to end the helter-skelter and move to a slower nominating process, such as by staging four regional primaries.
Stateline.org

Can You Trust What Polls Say about Obama's Electoral Prospects?
Two Important Trends Suggest Americans May Now Be Ready to Elect an African American President
7 Feb 07The strong showing of Democrat Barack Obama in early trial heat polls for the 2008 presidential election raises anew the question of whether the American public is ready to support an African American candidate for president. Recent polling points to two significant shifts on this question.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

What Americans Pay For - and How
'Information Age' Bills Keep Piling Up
7 Feb 07Bill-paying is a different experience now than it was a generation ago. A sizable minority of adults pay by click. And a sizable majority pay each month for one or more of the big three Information Age staples that didn't exist or were in their infancy a few decades back -- cell phones, internet service and cable and satellite television.
Pew Research Center

Election Newshounds Speak Up
Newspaper, TV and Internet Fans Tell How and Why They Differ
6 Feb 07If you ask political news consumers what they like most about their favorite platform for news, a vivid image of a typical TV, newspaper, and internet political news consumer will emerge from their own comments. All three media forms win praise from their primary fans for their convenience but the context for its definition varies.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Mega-donors Get Mixed Election Returns
Wealthy Contributors Find that Big Bucks Sometimes Backfire
5 Feb 07A bevy of big donors poured some of their personal fortunes into last year's gubernatorial, state legislative and ballot-measure contests. But the super-rich had a mixed record in their single-handed efforts to sway election outcomes. In some cases, the motives of wealthy donors even backfired against their candidates or causes.
Stateline.org

Lake Wobegon, U.S.A.
Where All the Children Are Above Average - At Least by Their Schools' Ways of Counting
31 Jan 07Huge discrepancies exist between student scores on state-designed tests and on national tests.
Stateline.org

Tagging Play
Forget Dewey and His Decimals, Internet Users Are Revolutionizing the Way We Classify Information - and Make Sense of It
31 Jan 07New internet features let users organize digital material their own way.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Top of the News: Politics, War, and a Crucial Speech
PEJ News Coverage Index: Jan. 21-26, 2007
30 Jan 07One not-so-subliminal message in last week's coverage is that of an increasingly dangerous and destabilizing world.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Bush Builds on States' Agenda
24 Jan 07It's too soon to know how far the new Congress might go in accepting the president's State of the Union proposals on health care, energy, immigration and education, but states aren't waiting to find out - they've taken the lead on these domestic issues.
Stateline.org

We Try Hard. We Fall Short. Americans Assess Their Saving Habits
24 Jan 07Despite a negative national savings rate, three-in-four Americans still think of themselves as savers. But a majority also acknowledge they don't save enough, according to a new Pew survey.
Pew Research Center

Global Warming: A Divide on Causes and Solutions
Public Views Unchanged by Unusual Weather
24 Jan 07New poll finds continuing broad agreement that the earth is getting hotter, but few rate the phenomenon a top priority for action.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Broad Support for Political Compromise in Washington
But Many Are Hesitant to Yield on Contentious Issues
22 Jan 07A large majority of the American public thinks the country is more politically polarized than in the past, and an even greater number expresses a strong desire for political compromise. Fully three-quarters say they like political leaders who are willing to compromise, compared with 21% who see this as a negative trait.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Election 2006 Online
The Internet Is Creating a New Class of Web-Savvy Political Activists
17 Jan 07A new poll finds the number of Americans who got most of their information about the 2006 campaign on the internet doubled from the 2002 mid-term election, and many used the web to become politically involved.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Lethal Injection on Trial
Already on hold in 12 states, the death penalty faces further attacks in courts and legislatures this year
17 Jan 07Already effectively on hold in 12 states, the death penalty will come under further attack in state legislatures and courts this year. In particular, lethal injection, once seen as a more humane alternative to the gas chamber, electric chair, firing squad or gallows now faces serious challenges.
Stateline.org

Most Oppose President Bush's New Iraq Plan
But New Poll Finds Surging GOP Support for a Troop Surge
16 Jan 07President Bush's plan to send roughly 21,000 additional troops to Iraq has drawn broad opposition from the American public. If anything, the plan has triggered increased partisan polarization on the debate over what to do in Iraq.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Iraq Policy Debate Dominates the News
But in a Week of Serious Events, Celebrity Coverage Held Its Own
16 Jan 07In the second week of the new year (January 7-12) Iraq policy filled 34% of the overall newshole and was the top story in all five media sectors -- newspapers, online, network TV, cable and radio.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Want to Buy the Brooklyn Bridge?
10 Jan 07It's not for sale yet, but in the latest trend of revenue generating strategies, states have taken to selling off, leasing out and cashing in on some of their most valuable assets, primarily toll roads. Several big deals were consummated in 2006, including a $3.8 billion deal in Indiana to lease a state toll road to a private Australian-Spanish consortium.
Stateline.org

A Portrait of "Generation Next"
How Young People View Their Lives, Futures and Politics
9 Jan 07A new generation has come of age, shaped by an unprecedented revolution in technology and dramatic events both at home and abroad. They are Generation Next, the cohort of young adults who have grown up with personal computers, cell phones and the internet and are now taking their place in a world where the only constant is rapid change.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Democrats in Congress Top the Week's News
The Debut of the PEJ News Coverage Index
9 Jan 07The changing of the political guard in Washington, the death of a president and the hanging of a dictator were enough to overshadow the war in Iraq in the American news media last week, according to the inaugural edition of the PEJ News Coverage Index.
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Are You a Citizen? Prove It
8 Jan 07Worries about voter fraud, terrorism and illegal immigration are driving a surge in stiff new identification requirements. To weed out those who aren't citizens, all Americans increasingly need a paper trail to qualify for some of the perks of citizenship -- from driver's licenses to Medicaid help.
Stateline.org

Social Networking Websites and Teens
Over half (55%) of online teens have web profiles; MySpace dominates networking world.
7 Jan 07In the past 5 years, social networking sites have rocketed from a niche activity in to a phenomenon that engages tens of millions of internet users.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Most Americans Moderately Upbeat About Family Finances in 2007
4 Jan 07Most Americans are moderately upbeat about their family's financial prospects in the coming year, with 57% expecting some improvement in their financial situation and another 10% expecting a lot of improvement, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
Pew Research Center

The Complicated Politics of Free Trade
Unrestricted Trade Makes for Strange Political Bedfellows
4 Jan 07Crafting effective U.S. trade policies in an era of rapid economic globalization is tough. But the politics of free trade are even tougher -- particularly for Democrats, according to a recent national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Few Latinos Now Support the War in Iraq
Hispanics Favor Troop Withdrawals Even More Strongly Than Does the General Public
4 Jan 07Two out of every three Latinos now believe that U.S. troops should be brought home from Iraq as soon as possible and only one in four thinks the U.S. made the right decision in using military force, according to a new survey by the Pew Hispanic Center.
Pew Hispanic Center