Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

News Habits & Media

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Pew Research Center illustration for America's News Influencers report; photos via Getty Images

America’s News Influencers

About one-in-five Americans – including 37% of adults under 30 – say they regularly get news from news influencers on social media. Our analysis of news influencers found that nearly two-thirds are men, and about three-quarters have no current or former affiliation with the news industry.

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    Public Gives Press “C” Grade For Campaign Coverage

    Report Summary With few exceptions, American voters were not very pleased with the way the press covered the fall election campaign. Exit surveys, which questioned over 20,000 voters as they left the polling booth, found the media getting average or below average grades for its work on the midterm elections. Fewer than half of respondents […]

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    Democratic Congressional Prospects Worsen

    Report Summary A majority of Americans say they are inclined to vote for a Republican congressional candidate this fall. If they act on their intentions, it will be the first time in modern political history that the GOP carries the popular vote.

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    Technology in the American Household

    Summary of Findings As the internet was in its earliest stages as a mass communication medium, the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press undertook a major study investigating the ways in which new and old technology were being integrated into peoples’ lives. The study is based on a survey of 3,667 adults […]

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    Public Tunes Out Recent News

    Report Summary The American public has not absorbed the basic facts of many major news stories of recent months. While most Americans know that Nelson Mandela was elected in South Africa, and that Richard Nixon was the President forced to resign over Watergate, a new nationwide survey by the Times Mirror Center found the public […]

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    Mixed Message About Press Freedom on Both Sides of Atlantic

    Report Summary In a comparative media survey across eight countries, the publics of North America and Western Europe credit the news media for its positive overall impact on their countries. Large majorities said the press helps their democracies and has a good influence on their societies — usually better than the influence of other institutions, […]

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    TV Trials Captivate Public

    Report Summary Melodramatic court trials carried on television recently have enjoyed huge audiences in the United States, a new nationwide Times Mirror survey found. Fully 43% of the American public have watched at least four of five of the most sensational trials aired on TV within the past few years. The survey also suggests that […]

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    Public Sympathetic to Inman Charges

    Report Summary While very few Americans followed news of Bobby Ray Inman’s abrupt withdrawal as nominee for secretary of defense, many agree with the criticisms he made of the press in explaining his departure from public life.

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    Jury Still Out on Clinton’s Success

    Report Summary Most Americans say they still haven’t made up their minds about Bill Clinton. But the President’s personal image has been weakened by a belief that he can’t get things done and a feeling that he breaks his promises. Six months into office few Americans can cite a Clinton achievement without prompting, and the […]

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    Clinton’s Press Judged as Less Fair than Bush’s and Reagan’s

    REPORT SUMMARY Many Americans think the press is being unfair to Bill Clinton, and the public most often complains that the media has come to an earlier judgment about this President’s performance than it did about his predecessors. But the public does not blame the press for being too critical of Bill Clinton, nor for causing […]

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    Waco and King Coverage Faulted

    Report Summary In expressing significant doubts about press performance on the two most closely followed news events of the past month, at least two out of five Americans felt the press was too critical of the Clinton Administration and the FBI for their handling of the Waco, Texas cult tragedy. And one in three complained […]

Signature Reports

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A collage of podcast-related images

Most Top-Ranked Podcasts Bring On Guests

Thousands of guests appeared on the top-ranked podcasts in 2022, but a relatively small number accounted for a majority of appearances. 76% of top-ranked podcasts brought on at least one guest in 2022, and 27% almost always or regularly featured guests.