what Americans know, or don’t know
http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=319
Public Knowledge of Current Affairs Little Changed by News and
Information Revolutions
What Americans Know: 1989-2007
Released: April 15, 2007
Since the late 1980s, the emergence of 24-hour cable news as a
dominant news source and the explosive growth of the internet have
led to major changes in the American public’s news habits. But a new
nationwide survey finds that the coaxial and digital revolutions and
attendant changes in news audience behaviors have had little impact
on how much Americans know about national and international affairs.
On average, today’s citizens are about as able to name their leaders,
and are about as aware of major news events, as was the public nearly
20 years ago. The new survey includes nine questions that are either
identical or roughly comparable to questions asked in the late 1980s
and early 1990s. In 2007, somewhat fewer were able to name their
governor, the vice president, and the president of Russia, but more
respondents than in the earlier era gave correct answers to questions
pertaining to national politics.
In 1989, for example, 74% could come up with Dan Quayle’s name when
asked who the vice president is. Today, somewhat fewer (69%) are able
to recall Dick Cheney. However, more Americans now know that the
chief justice of the Supreme Court is generally considered a
conservative and that Democrats control Congress than knew these
things in 1989. Some of the largest knowledge differences between the
two time periods may reflect differences in the amount of press
coverage of a particular issue or public figure at the time the
surveys were taken. But taken as a whole the findings suggest little
change in overall levels of public knowledge.
The survey provides further evidence that changing news formats are
not having a great deal of impact on how much the public knows about
national and international affairs. The polling does find the
expected correlation between how much citizens know and how avidly
they watch, read, or listen to news reports. The most knowledgeable
third of the public is four times more likely than the least
knowledgeable third to say they enjoy keeping up with the news “a lot.”
There are substantial differences in the knowledge levels of the
audiences for different news outlets. However, there is no clear
connection between news formats and what audiences know. Well-
informed audiences come from cable (Daily Show/Colbert Report,
O’Reilly Factor), the internet (especially major newspaper websites),
broadcast TV (NewsHour with Jim Lehrer) and radio (NPR, Rush
Limbaugh’s program). The less informed audiences also frequent a mix
of formats: broadcast television (network morning news shows, local
news), cable (Fox News Channel), and the internet (online blogs where
people discuss news events).
Aside from news media use, demographic characteristics, especially
education, continue to be strongly associated with how much Americans
know about the larger world. However, despite the fact that education
levels have risen dramatically over the past 20 years, public
knowledge has not increased accordingly.
These are the principal findings of an in-depth Pew Research Center
survey that interviewed a representative national sample of 1,502
adults between Feb.1-13, 2007. Respondents were asked to identify
public figures who had recently been in the news. They also were
asked questions that measured how much they knew about important and
widely covered news events. Awareness of public figures varied widely.
More than nine-in-ten Americans (93%) could identify Arnold
Schwarzenegger as the California governor or a former action-movie
star - both responses were counted as correct in the scoring. An
equally large proportion of the public identified Hillary Clinton as
a U.S. senator, a former first lady, a Democratic leader, or a
candidate for president. Clear majorities can also correctly identify
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (65%) and Sen. Barack Obama
(61%). House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is recognized by about half of the
public (49%).
Other prominent national figures and world leaders are not as well
known. When asked to name the president of Russia, just 36% recalled
Vladimir Putin. Only about three-in-ten (29%) could correctly
identify former White House aide Scooter Libby; the survey was
conducted during Libby’s trial - but before his conviction - on
perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
Public knowledge of news events also varies widely. Nearly nine-in-
ten (88%) knew that as part of his revised Iraq strategy, President
Bush planned to increase U.S. military forces in the country. But
only one-in-four Americans (24%) are aware that both houses of
Congress passed legislation to increase the minimum wage and 34% knew
that Congress voted to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.
Distinct patterns emerge when these results are analyzed by key
demographic groups. Education proves to be the single best predictor
of knowledge. Holding all other factors equal, levels of knowledge
rise with each additional year of formal schooling. At the extremes,
these educational differences are dramatic: People with postgraduate
degrees answer, on average, about 17 of the 23 questions correctly,
while those who did not finish high school average only about eight
correct answers.
Other demographic differences are also striking. Men, on average,
knew more than women, all other factors being equal. Older Americans
- particularly those 50 years old or older - did better than younger
people. Whites scored better than blacks, while more affluent
Americans knew more than those with lower household incomes.
As part of the Pew Knowledge Project, people are invited to test
their own news IQ by taking an interactive knowledge quiz now
available on the Pew Research Center website. The short quiz includes
versions of the some of the same questions that were included in the
national poll. Participants will instantly learn how they did on the
quiz in comparison with the general public as well as with people
like them. Take the quiz.
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