Results for the main survey on Media
Consumption are based on telephone interviews conducted
under the direction of Princeton Survey Research
Associates among a nationwide sample of 3,142 adults, 18
years of age or older, during the period April 20-May
13, 2000. For results based on the total sample, one can
say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to
sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 2.5
percentage points. For results based on either Form A
(N=1,593) or Form B (N=1,549), the sampling error is
plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Results for the Believability Study
are based on telephone interviews conducted under the
direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates among
two separate nationwide samples of adults, 18 years of
age or older. The questions about believability of
traditional print and broadcast news sources were asked
of 911 adults, during the period May 5-16, 2000. For
results based on this sample, the sampling error is plus
or minus 4 percentage points. The questions about
believability of online news sources were asked of 308
Internet users, during the period June 1-6, 2000. For
results based on this sample, the sampling error is plus
or minus 6 percentage points.
In addition to sampling error, one
should bear in mind that question wording and practical
difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error
or bias into the findings of opinion polls.
SURVEY METHODOLOGY IN
DETAIL
The sample for this survey is a random
digit sample of telephone numbers selected from
telephone exchanges in the continental United States.
The random digit aspect of the sample is used to avoid
"listing" bias and provides representation of
both listed and unlisted numbers (including
not-yet-listed). The design of the sample ensures this
representation by random generation of the last two
digits of telephone numbers selected on the basis of
their area code, telephone exchange, and bank number.
The telephone exchanges were selected
with probabilities proportional to their size. The first
eight digits of the sampled telephone numbers (area
code, telephone exchange, bank number) were selected to
be proportionally stratified by county and by telephone
exchange within county. That is, the number of telephone
numbers randomly sampled from within a given county is
proportional to that county's share of telephone numbers
in the U.S. Only working banks of telephone numbers are
selected. A working bank is defined as 100 contiguous
telephone numbers containing three or more residential
listings.
The sample was released for
interviewing in replicates. Using replicates to control
the release of sample to the field ensures that the
complete call procedures are followed for the entire
sample. The use of replicates also insures that the
regional distribution of numbers called is appropriate.
Again, this works to increase the representativeness of
the sample.
At least five attempts were made to
complete an interview at every sampled telephone number.
The calls were staggered over times of day and days of
the week to maximize the chances of making a contact
with a potential respondent. All interview breakoffs and
refusals were re-contacted at least once in order to
attempt to convert them to completed interviews. In each
contacted household, interviewers asked to speak with
the "youngest male 18 or older who is at
home." If there is no eligible man at home,
interviewers asked to speak with "the oldest woman
18 or older who is at home." This systematic
respondent selection technique has been shown
empirically to produce samples that closely mirror the
population in terms of age and gender.
Non-response in telephone interview
surveys produces some known biases in survey-derived
estimates because participation tends to vary for
different subgroups of the population, and these
subgroups are likely to vary also on questions of
substantive interest. In order to compensate for these
known biases, the sample data are weighted in analysis.
The demographic weighting parameters
are derived from a special analysis of the most recently
available Census Bureau's Current Population Survey
(March 1999). This analysis produced population
parameters for the demographic characteristics of
households with adults 18 or older, which are then
compared with the sample characteristics to construct
sample weights. The analysis only included households in
the continental United States that contain a telephone.
The weights are derived using an
iterative technique that simultaneously balances the
distributions of all weighting parameters.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER FOR THE PEOPLE
AND THE PRESS
BIENNIAL MEDIA CONSUMPTION SURVEY
FINAL TOPLINE
April 20 - May 13, 2000
(T) = Total sample [N=3,142]
(A) = Form A [N=1,593]
(B) = [N=1,549]
1 (T) All in all, are you satisfied or
dissatisfied with the way things are going in this
country today?
Satisfied Dissatisfied No Opinion
April, 2000 48 43 9=100
August, 1999 56 39 5=100
January, 1999 53 41 6=100
November, 1998 46 44 10=100
Early September, 1998 54 42 4=100
Late August, 1998 55 41 4=100
Early August, 1998 50 44 6=100
February, 1998 59 37 4=100
January, 1998 46 50 4=100
September, 1997 45 49 6=100
August, 1997 49 46 5=100
January, 1997 38 58 4=100
July, 1996 29 67 4=100
March, 1996 28 70 2=100
October, 1995 23 73 4=100
June, 1995 25 73 2=100
April, 1995 23 74 3=100
July, 1994 24 73 3=100
March, 1994 24 71 5=100
October, 1993 22 73 5=100
September, 1993 20 75 4=100
May, 1993 22 71 7=100
January, 1993 39 50 11=100
January, 1992 28 68 4=100
November, 1991 34 61 5=100
Late February, 1991 (Gallup) 66 31 3=100
August, 1990 47 48 5=100
May, 1990 41 54 5=100
January, 1989 45 50 5=100
September, 1988 50 45 5=100
May, 1988 41 54 5=100
January, 1988 39 55 6=100
Now a different kind of question about
where you MIGHT go to get NEWS... ASK FORM A ONLY:
2 (A) If you heard that the stock market had fallen
1,000 points, where would you go FIRST for more
information about this, or wouldn't you be interested in
getting more information? (OPEN-END; IF TV/TV NEWS,
PROBE WITH: What kind of tv/tv news? ACCEPT MULTIPLE
RESPONSES.)
30 Television
2 Network/TV News
1 ABC News
1 NBC News
* CBS News
1 Network News (unspecified)
* All other Network TV News mentions
14 Cable TV
9 CNN News
2 CNBC News
1 MSNBC News
* Cable TV channels
1 All other Cable TV mentions
10 Television (unspecified)
2 News program
2 Local TV News
1 FOX News (unspecified)
* All other Television mentions
16 Internet/Online
10 Newspaper/Magazine
7 Newspaper (unspecified)
2 Wall Street Journal
1 Local newspaper
1 All other Newspaper/Magazine mentions
3 Radio
2 Radio (unspecified)
1 National Public Radio/NPR
* All other Radio mentions
9 Miscellaneous
4 Contact my broker/stockbroker
2 Word of mouth/Talk with friends/family/co-workers
* Contact my bank/banker
2 All other miscellaneous mentions
32 None/Wouldn't want more information
5 Don't know/Refused
ASK FORM B ONLY:
3 (B) If you heard that there had been a major terrorist
attack on a large US city, where would you go FIRST for
more information about this, or wouldn't you be
interested in getting more information? (OPEN-END; IF
TV/TV NEWS, PROBE WITH: What kind of tv/tv news? ACCEPT
MULTIPLE RESPONSES.)
66 Television
9 Network/TV News
3 ABC News
3 NBC News
3 Network News (unspecified)
2 CBS News
* All other Network TV News mentions
24 Cable TV
22 CNN News
1 MSNBC News
1 CNBC News
1 Cable TV channels
1 All other Cable TV mentions
22 Television (unspecified)
4 News program
7 Local TV News
1 FOX News (unspecified)
1 All other Television mentions
10 Radio
8 Radio (unspecified)
1 National Public Radio/NPR
1 All other Radio mentions
10 Internet/Online
5 Newspaper/Magazine
4 Newspaper (unspecified)
* Local newspaper
* All other Newspaper/Magazine mentions
5 Miscellaneous
1 Contact government officials/representatives
1 Contact police/law enforcement
1 Word of mouth/Talk with friends/family/co-workers
2 All other miscellaneous mentions
6 None/Wouldn't want more information
6 Don't know/Refused
ASK ALL:
On a different subject...
4 (T) Do you happen to read any daily newspaper or
newspapers regularly, or not?
Yes No Don't Know
April, 2000 63 37 *=100
November, 1998 70 30 0=100
April, 1998 68 32 *=100
April, 1996 71 28 1=100
June, 1995 69 34 *=100
March, 1995 71 29 *=100
October, 1994 73 27 *=100
July, 1994 74 26 *=100
February, 1994 70 30 0=100
January, 1994 71 29 *=100
June, 1992 75 25 *=100
July, 1991 73 27 *=100
May, 1991 70 30 *=100
January, 1991 72 27 1=100
November, 1990 74 26 0=100
October, 1990 72 28 0=100
July, 1990 71 29 0=100
May, 1990 71 29 0=100
5 (T) Do you happen to watch any TV
news programs regularly, or not?
Yes No Don't Know
April, 2000 75 25 *=100
April, 1998 80 20 *=100
April, 1996 81 19 0=100
June, 1995 78 22 *=100
March, 1995 82 18 *=100
October, 1994 81 19 *=100
July, 1994 81 19 *=100
February, 1994 84 16 0=100
January, 1994 85 15 *=100
June, 1992 85 15 *=100
July, 1991 84 16 *=100
May, 1991 84 16 *=100
January, 1991 88 12 *=100
November, 1990 80 20 *=100
October, 1990 81 19 0=100
July, 1990 81 19 0=100
May, 1990 80 20 0=100
6 (T) Do you listen to news on the
radio regularly, or not?
Yes No Don't Know
April, 2000 46 54 *=100
April, 1998 52 48 *=100
April, 1996 51 49 *=100
June, 1995 50 50 *=100
March, 1995 54 46 *=100
October, 1994 51 49 *=100
July, 1994 52 48 0=100
February, 1994 53 47 0=100
January, 1994 52 48 *=100
June, 1992 54 46 *=100
May, 1991 53 47 *=100
January, 1991 55 45 *=100
November, 1990 55 45 *=100
October, 1990 54 46 0=100
May, 1990 56 44 *=100
7 (T) We're interested in how often
people watch the major TV network evening news programs
by this we mean ABC World News Tonight with Peter
Jennings, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, and NBC
Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. Do you happen to
watch TV evening news programs regularly, or not?
April April March May Aug May
1998 1996 1995 1990 1989 1987
50 Yes 59 59 65 67 67 71
50 No 41 41 35 32 33 28
* DK/Refused * * * 1 * 1
100 100 100 100 100 100 100
8 (T) Now I will read a list of some
stories covered by news organizations this past
month. As I read each item, tell me if you
happened to follow this news story very closely, fairly
closely, not too closely, or not at all closely?
[READ AND ROTATE LIST]
Very Fairly Not too Not at all (VOL)
Closely Closely Closely Closely DK
a. News about candidates for the
2000 presidential election 18 33 26 23 *=100
April, 2000 18 39 22 20 1=100
March, 2000 26 41 19 13 1=100
February, 2000 26 36 21 17 *=100
January, 2000 19 34 28 18 1=100
December, 1999 16 36 24 23 1=100
October, 1999 17 32 28 22 1=100
September, 1999 15 31 33 20 1=100
July, 1999 15 38 24 22 1=100
June, 1999 11 25 29 34 1=100
April, 1996+ 23 35 25 17 *=100
April, 1992 32 44 16 8 *=100
May, 1988 22 46 23 6 3=100
+ In April 1996, the story was listed as "News about the Republican
presidential candidates."
d. Recent major ups and downs in
the U.S. stock market 18 28 23 31 *=100
April, 2000 19 29 20 32 *=100
March, 2000 23 29 21 26 1=100
March, 1999 18 29 22 31 *=100
January, 1999 24 28 19 28 1=100
Early September, 1998 32 31 20 17 *=100
Mid-August, 1998 17 23 21 39 *=100
January, 1998 21 25 23 31 *=100
November, 1997 25 36 18 20 1=100
September, 1997 14 22 23 40 1=100
April, 1997 17 21 22 40 *=100
February, 1996 12 20 25 42 1=100
ITEM ASKED APRIL 20-23 ONLY [N=469]:
c. The debate over whether 6-year-old
Elian Gonzalez should be returned to
his father 32 34 20 14 *=100
April, 2000 33 38 16 11 2=100
February, 2000 37 41 15 6 1=100
January, 2000 39 38 14 8 1=100
ITEM ASKED APRIL 24-MAY 13 ONLY [N=2,673]:
c. Elian Gonzalez being returned to
his father and the debate over
what should happen next 31 35 19 15 *=100
ASK ALL:
d. The one-year anniversary of the
shootings at Columbine High School
in Colorado 20 31 29 20 *=100
ITEM ASKED APRIL 20-27 ONLY [N=1,363]:
e. The protests in Washington, DC at
the annual meetings of the World
Bank and the International Monetary
Fund 6 18 32 43 1=100
ITEM ASKED APRIL 28-MAY 14 ONLY [N=1,015]:
f. The government's recommendation
that the computer software
company Microsoft should be broken
up into two separate companies,
because it engaged in unfair
business practices 16 33 26 25 *=100
INTERVIEWER NOTE: FOR QUESTIONS 9 thru
13 PLEASE DETERMINE WHAT DAY OF THE WEEK IT
IS. IF THE DAY OF THE WEEK IS SUNDAY, PLEASE READ
"FRIDAY." IF THE DAY OF THE WEEK IS NOT
SUNDAY, READ "YESTERDAY."
9 (T) Now, on another subject... Did
you get a chance to read a daily newspaper yesterday, or
not? FORM A ONLY: IF "YES" IN QUESTION 9, ASK:
10 (A) About how much time did you spend reading a daily
newspaper yesterday? (DO NOT READ)
Late
Sept Nov April Nov April June March Feb Jan March Gallup
(T) (A) 1999 1998 1998 1997 1996 1995 1995 1994 1994 1991 1965
46 47 Read the paper 47 47 48 50 50 52 45 58 49 56 71
9 Less than 15 min. 9 8 8 8 7 7 9 7 7 n/a n/a
14 15-29 min. 12 11 14 14 15 15 14 15 15 n/a n/a
16 30-59 min. 16 16 17 17 18 18 16 21 17 n/a n/a
8 1 hour or more 10 11 9 10 10 11 6 14 10 n/a n/a
* Don't know * 1 * 1 * 1 0 1 * n/a n/a
54 53 Didn't read paper 53 53 52 50 50 48 55 42 50 44 29
* * Don't know * * * 0 * * * 0 1 * 0
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
ASK ALL:
11 (T) Did you watch THE NEWS OR A
NEWS PROGRAM on television yesterday, or not?
FORM A ONLY:
IF "YES" IN QUESTION 11, ASK:
12 (A) About how much time did you
spend watching the news or any news programs on TV
yesterday? (DO NOT READ)
Late
Sept Nov April Nov April June March Feb Jan March Gallup
(T) (A) 1999 1998 1998 1997 1996 1995 1995 1994 1994 1991 1965
55 56 Watched TV News 62 65 59 68 59 64 61 74 72 68 55
4 Less than 15 min. 6 5 3 4 3 3 4 3 3 n/a n/a
8 15-29 min. 7 8 7 11 6 8 9 8 8 n/a n/a
20 30-59 min. 21 21 21 23 21 24 21 25 25 n/a n/a
23 1 hour or more 28 30 28 30 29 28 27 37 36 n/a n/a
1 Don't know * 1 * * * 1 * 1 * n/a n/a
44 44 Did not watch 37 35 41 31 40 35 38 26 27 32 45
1 * Don't know 1 * * 1 1 1 1 0 1 * 0
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
P.1 Apart from news, did you
watch anything else on television yesterday, or not?
IF "YES", ASK:
P.2 About how much time did you spend watching TV
yesterday, not including the news?
Pew Nov June Feb
Internet+ 1997 1995 1994
57 Yes 64 59 69
3 A half hour or less 2 1 2
5 Thirty minutes or less than one hour 5 4 3
10 About an hour or more 15 10 11
8 More than one hour but less than two hours 7 6 7
15 Two hours to less than three hours 16 16 19
7 Three hours to less than four hours 11 10 12
8 Four hours or more 8 11 14
* Don't know/Refused * 1 1
42 Did not watch 36 40 31
1 Don't know * 1 0
100 100 100 100
+ Questions P.1 and P.2 are taken from
a survey conducted for the Pew Internet & American
Life Project (March 1 - May 1, 2000; N=6,036). All trend
numbers are from the Pew Research Center.
ASK ALL:
13 (T) About how much time, if any, did you spend
listening to any news on the radio yesterday, or didn't
you happen to listen to the news on the radio yesterday?
(DO NOT READ)
Late
Sept Nov April Nov April June March Feb Jan March Gallup
1999 1998 1998 1997 1996 1995 1995 1994 1994 1991 1965
43 Yes, listened 44 41 49 44 44 42 47 47 47 44 58
14 Less than 15 min. 12 13 16 12 12 13 16 14 15 n/a n/a
9 15-29 min. 8 8 9 9 11 9 12 11 10 n/a n/a
9 30-59 min. 10 8 10 9 10 9 9 9 10 n/a n/a
11 1 hour or more 14 12 14 14 11 11 10 13 12 n/a n/a
56 Didn't Listen 56 57 51 55 55 56 52 52 52 56 42
1 Don't know * 2 * 1 1 2 1 1 1 * 0
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
P.3 Did you happen to go online
yesterday? (IF YES, ASK: From where did you
go online... home, work, school, or some combination of
these?) (ENTER ALL THAT APPLY)
BASED ON ONLINE USERS [N=1,690]
Pew Sept Nov Nov Oct June
Internet+ 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995
60 Yes (NET) 60 43 44 38 32
n/a Yes, home (INTERVIEWER: home
n/a business/work at home would go here) 37 32 27 26 19
n/a Yes, work 21 12 20 15 15
n/a Yes, school 4 2 6 3 2
n/a Yes, other locations 5 1 1 1 2
40 No, didn't go online 40 56 55 62 67
* Don't know/Refused 0 1 1 * 1
100 100 100 100 100 100
+ Pew Internet & American Life
Project, March 2000. The question was worded as
follows, "Did you happen to go online or check your
emial YESTERDAY?"
FORM A ONLY:
INTERVIEWER: IF THE DAY OF THE WEEK IS SUNDAY, BEGIN
THIS SERIES WITH "Now, thinking about
yesterday..." OTHERWISE BEGIN WITH "Again,
thinking about yesterday..."
14 (A) Did you spend any time reading magazines?
IF RESPONDENT ANSWERED '1' YES, READ MAGAZINES IN
QUESTION 14 ASK:
15 (A) About how much time did you spend reading
magazines yesterday? (DO NOT READ)
Late
Sept April Nov June Feb
1999 1998 1997 1995 1994
26 Yes 28 29 32 31 33
4 Less than 15 minutes 4 4 6 4 5
6 15 to less 30 minutes 8 7 8 8 9
8 30 mins to less than 1 hour 9 10 9 11 10
8 One hour or more 7 8 9 8 9
* Don't know/Refused * * * * *
74 No 72 71 68 69 67
* Don't know * * * 0 0
100 100 100 100 100 100
ASK ALL:
16 (T) Now I'd like to know how often you watch or
listen to certain TV and radio programs. For each that I
read, tell me if you watch or listen to it regularly,
sometimes, hardly ever, or never. (First) how
often do you ...(READ AND ROTATE; ITEM d SHOULD ALWAYS
DIRECTLY FOLLOW ITEM c; ITEMS u, v AND w SHOULD ALWAYS
COME LAST WITH THE SPECIAL INTRO.) How often do you...
Hardly
Regularly Sometimes Ever Never DK/Ref
a. Watch the national nightly network news on
CBS, ABC or NBC? This is different from local
news shows about the area where you live 30 28 16 25 1=100
August, 1999 40 33 16 11 *=100
April, 1998 38 29 15 18 *=100
February, 1997 41 31 14 14 *=100
April, 1996 42 29 15 14 *=100
March, 1995 48 28 14 10 *=100
May, 1993 60 28 5 6 1=100
February, 1993 58 23 10 9 *=100
b. Watch the local news about your viewing area?
This usually comes on before the national
news and then later at night at 10 or 11 56 24 9 11 *=100
April, 1998 65 23 7 5 *=100
February, 1997 72 16 7 5 0=100
April, 1996 65 23 7 5 *=100
March, 1995 72 18 6 4 *=100
May, 1993 77 16 5 4 *=100
February, 1993 76 16 5 3 *=100
c. Watch Cable News Network (CNN) 21 34 16 29 *=100
April, 1998 23 34 13 30 *=100
February, 1997 28 30 14 28 0=100
April, 1996 26 33 14 27 *=100
March, 1995 30 28 13 28 1=100
July, 1994 33 36 7 24 *=100
February, 1994 31 32 8 29 *=100
May, 1993 35 34 7 24 *=100
June, 1992 30 32 10 27 1=100
July, 1990 27 28 8 36 1=100
June, 1990 30 27 6 37 *=100
May, 1990 27 25 7 40 1=100
April, 1990 26 29 7 37 1=100
March, 1990 22 28 8 41 1=100
February, 1990 23 29 8 40 0=100
January, 1990 26 25 7 41 1=100
d. Watch LOCAL all news cable channels, which
feature news about the area where you live 29 23 14 33 1=100
e. Watch C-SPAN 4 17 22 56 1=100
April, 1998 4 19 18 58 1=100
April, 1996 6 21 18 53 2=100
March, 1995 8 17 20 53 2=100
July, 1994 9 26 12 52 1=100
February, 1994 7 20 15 56 2=100
May, 1993 11 25 13 48 3=100
February, 1993 7 18 14 45 16=100
June, 1992 6 19 18 54 3=100
f. Listen to National Public Radio (NPR) 15 17 16 51 1=100
April, 1998 15 17 18 49 1=100
April, 1996 13 18 16 52 1=100
March, 1995 15 17 21 46 1=100
July, 1994 9 18 11 62 *=100
February, 1994 9 13 12 65 1=100
May, 1993 15 20 15 49 1=100
June, 1992 7 16 17 59 1=100
July, 1990 9 13 8 70 *=100
June, 1990 9 10 11 69 1=100
May, 1990 7 11 10 72 *=100
April, 1990 7 12 9 71 1=100
March, 1990 7 9 10 74 *=100
February, 1990 8 10 8 74 *=100
January, 1990 5 10 7 78 *=100
g. Watch news magazine shows such
as 60 Minutes, 20/20 or Dateline 31 41 15 13 *=100
August, 1999 35 40 16 9 *=100
April, 1998 37 41 12 10 *=100
April, 1996 36 38 15 11 *=100
July, 1994 43 43 8 6 *=100
February, 1994 45 36 11 8 0=100
May, 1993 52 37 6 5 *=100
February, 1993 49 32 11 8 *=100
June, 1992 46 40 8 6 *=100
July, 1990 46 38 8 8 *=100
June, 1990 50 36 6 8 *=100
May, 1990 45 37 8 10 *=100
April, 1990 47 37 7 9 *=100
March, 1990 41 42 7 10 *=100
February, 1990 39 41 10 10 0=100
January, 1990 43 40 8 9 *=100
h. Watch the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer 5 12 15 66 2=100
April, 1998 4 14 14 67 1=100
April, 1996 4 10 11 73 2=100
July, 1994 7 23 11 58 1=100
February, 1994 6 16 11 66 1=100
May, 1993 10 24 14 51 1=100
June, 1992 6 19 17 56 2=100
July, 1990 7 16 11 66 *=100
June, 1990 7 16 12 64 1=100
May, 1990 8 15 11 65 1=100
April, 1990 6 16 11 66 1=100
March, 1990 5 19 12 63 1=100
February, 1990 5 15 11 69 0=100
January, 1990 6 15 12 67 *=100ASK FORM A ONLY:
i.(A)Watch TV shows such as Cops or
America's Most Wanted 18 27 20 35 *=100
ASK FORM B ONLY:
j.(B)Watch America's Most Wanted 14 26 19 41 *=100
February, 1997 16 26 24 34 0=100
ASK ALL:
k. Watch CNBC 13 29 18 37 3=100
April, 1998 12 27 17 42 2=100
l. Watch the Fox News CABLE Channel 17 28 17 37 1=100
April, 1998 17 30 14 38 1=100
m. Watch MSNBC 11 27 17 42 3=100
April, 1998 8 23 15 51 3=100
n. Watch the Weather Channel 32 28 15 25 *=100
April, 1998 33 27 13 27 *=100
o. Watch Sports News on ESPN 23 18 13 46 *=100
April, 1998 20 20 15 45 *=100
p. Watch documentaries on channels such as
the History Channel or the Discovery Channel 37 37 10 16 *=100
ASK FORM A ONLY:
q.(A)Watch Entertainment Tonight 9 27 23 41 *=100
April, 1998 8 27 24 41 *=100
February, 1997 9 29 23 39 *=100
June, 1992 11 30 24 35 *=100
April, 1990 14 30 17 39 *=100
March, 1990 15 31 15 39 *=100
February, 1990 11 31 16 42 0=100
January, 1990 11 34 16 39 0=100
ASK FORM B ONLY:
r.(B)Watch TV shows such as Entertainment
Tonight or Access Hollywood 8 26 22 44 *=100
ASK ALL:
s. Watch the Today Show, Good Morning
America or The Early Show 20 18 15 47 *=100
April, 1998 23 19 17 41 *=100
t. Watch Univision or some other Spanish-
speaking television network 3 4 7 86 *=100
Now thinking about different types of
daytime television shows, how often do you ...
(INSERT; ROTATE ITEMS u, v, and w)
Hardly
Regularly Sometimes Ever Never DK/Ref
u. Watch daytime talk shows such as Ricki
Lake or Jerry Springer? 7 12 14 67 *=100
April, 1998 13 15 14 58 *=100
June, 1997 8 13 20 59 *=100
April, 1996 10 14 17 59 *=100
v. Watch daytime talk shows such as Rosie
O'Donnell or Oprah Winfrey 10 21 18 51 *=100
w. Watch courtroom shows such as Judge Judy
and Divorce Court 12 21 15 52 *=100
ASK ALL:
17 (T) Now I'd like to know how often you read certain
types of publications. As I read each, tell me if
you read them regularly, sometimes, hardly ever or
never. (First,) how often do you read... (READ AND
ROTATE) How about...
Hardly
Regularly Sometimes Ever Never DK/Ref
a. News magazines such as Time, U.S.
News, or Newsweek 12 34 19 35 *=100
April, 1998 15 36 17 32 *=100
April, 1996 15 35 20 30 *=100
July, 1994 18 41 18 23 *=100
February, 1994 16 31 23 30 *=100
May, 1993 24 39 14 23 *=100
June, 1992 20 39 18 23 *=100
July, 1990 18 34 18 30 *=100
June, 1990 21 39 16 24 *=100
May, 1990 17 34 19 30 *=100
April, 1990 20 35 16 29 *=100
March, 1990 16 35 19 30 *=100
February, 1990 17 36 18 29 0=100
January, 1990 18 34 17 31 0=100
b. Business magazines such as Fortune and Forbes 5 15 15 65 *=100
April, 1998 5 16 15 64 *=100
April, 1996 5 17 16 62 *=100
July, 1994 5 21 21 53 0=100
February, 1994 6 15 17 62 *=100
June, 1992 5 17 21 57 *=100
July, 1990 5 15 14 66 *=100
June, 1990 6 16 16 62 *=100
May, 1990 4 14 15 67 *=100
April, 1990 5 15 14 66 *=100
March, 1990 5 14 14 67 0=100
February, 1990 4 12 14 70 *=100
January, 1990 5 13 14 68 0=100
c. The National Enquirer, The Sun or The Star 3 9 12 76 *=100
April, 1998 3 12 9 76 *=100
February, 1997 5 6 12 77 0=100
April, 1996 5 11 12 72 *=100
July, 1994 5 13 16 66 *=100
June, 1992 5 13 14 68 *=100
March, 1990 5 15 13 67 *=100
February, 1990 7 13 13 67 *=100
January, 1990 7 12 13 68 0=100
d. Personality magazines such as People 6 27 18 49 *=100
April, 1998 8 29 18 45 0=100
February, 1994 9 22 22 47 *=100
May, 1993 12 25 19 44 *=100
June, 1992 8 28 25 39 *=100
July, 1990 9 25 18 48 *=100
June, 1990 10 28 19 43 *=100
May, 1990 7 24 19 50 *=100
April, 1990 9 25 20 46 *=100
March, 1990 8 25 20 47 *=100
February, 1990 8 24 19 49 *=100
January, 1990 9 23 19 49 0=100
e. Magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly,
Harpers or The New Yorker 2 7 11 80 *=100
April, 1998 2 8 11 79 0=100
February, 1994 2 6 14 78 *=100
June, 1992 2 9 16 73 *=100
July, 1990 2 8 11 79 *=100
June, 1990 2 8 13 77 *=100
May, 1990 2 7 12 79 *=100
April, 1990 2 6 12 80 *=100
March, 1990 2 7 13 78 0=100
February, 1990 2 7 10 81 *=100
January, 1990 2 7 11 80 0=100
FORM B ONLY:
On another subject...
18 (B) How much do you enjoy keeping up with the news?
(READ CATEGORIES)
April June Feb
1998 1995 1994
45 A lot 50 54 53
40 Some 37 34 35
12 Not Much 11 8 9
3 Not at all 2 3 2
* (DO NOT READ) Don't know/Refused * 1 1
100 100 100 100
19 (B) How often, if ever, do you
listen to radio shows that invite listeners to call
in to discuss current events, public issues and
politics regularly, sometimes, rarely
or never?
Regularly Sometimes Rarely Never DK/Ref
April, 2000 14 23 23 40 *=100
August, 1999 18 23 24 35 *=100
Early September, 1998 23 25 23 29 *=100
April, 1998 13 22 24 41 *=100
October, 1997 18 28 25 29 *=100
August, 1997 17 24 28 31 *=100
Early September, 1996 15 25 22 37 1=100
July, 1996 16 24 27 33 *=100
June, 1996 17 25 26 31 1=100
April, 1996 13 23 25 39 *=100
March, 1996 18 28 24 30 *=100
October, 1995 18 33 25 24 *=100
June, 1995 15 19 27 39 *=100
April, 1995 19 30 24 27 *=100
November, 1994 16 31 26 26 1=100
July, 1994 17 29 24 30 *=100
December, 1993 23 22 25 30 0=100
April, 1993 23 32 23 22 *=100
20(B) Some people say they feel
overloaded with information these days, considering all
the TV news shows, magazines, newspapers, and computer
information services. Others say they like having
so much information to choose from. How about
you... do you feel overloaded, or do you like having so
much information available?
Nov April June
1998 1998 1995
30 Overloaded 28 28 23
62 Like it 62 67 64
5 Other (VOL) 6 2 11
3 Don't know/Refused 4 3 2
100 100 100 100
ASK ALL:
Now I would like to ask you a few questions about some
things that have been in the news. Not everyone will
have heard about them.
21 (T) Do you happen to
know who Alan Greenspan is?
May 1997
Correct Answer (Chairman of the Federal
Reserve; national financial policy maker;
in charge of interest rates; federal
44 government economist) 40
56 Any other answer/Don't know 60
100 100
22 (T) Do you happen to know if the
Federal Reserve Bank has raised or lowered interest
rates in recent months, or have interest rates stayed
the same?
Feb 1995
54 Raised rates (correct answer) 68
3 Lowered rates 4
7 Kept rates same 7
36 Don't know/Refused 21
100 100
23 (T) Do you happen to
know at what level the Dow Jones Industrial average is
currently trading? Is it at about (READ IN ORDER)?
5 3,000
4 5,000
28 10,000, OR (correct answer)
1 20,000
62 Don't know/Refused
100
FORM A ONLY:
24 (A) Generally, how satisfied are you with
the choice of things you can see on television these
days? Are you ...(READ)
April Feb
1998 1994
12 Very Satisfied 16 14
46 Fairly Satisfied 45 43
28 Not Too Satisfied 28 29
11 Not At All Satisfied 10 11
2 (DO NOT READ) Does not apply/irrelevant/don't care 1 2
1 Don't know/Refused * 1
100 100 100
25 (A) And how satisfied are you with
the choice of NEWS programs available to you on TV these
days? Are you ... (READ)
April Feb
1998 1994
32 Very Satisfied 35 43
48 Fairly Satisfied 50 43
13 Not Too Satisfied 9 7
5 Not At All Satisfied 4 4
1 (DO NOT READ) Does not apply/irrelevant/don't care 1 2
1 Don't know/Refused 1 1
100 100 100
ASK ALL:
26 (T) Now, I'm going to read you a list of
different types of news. Please tell me how
closely you follow this type of news either in the
newspaper, on television, or on radio... very closely,
somewhat closely, not very closely, or not at all
closely? First, (READ AND ROTATE)
Very Somewhat Not Very Not at all Don't
Closely Closely Closely Closely Know
a. News about political figures
and events in Washington 17 43 23 17 *=100
April, 1998 19 46 22 13 *=100
April, 1996 16 43 28 13 *=100
b. Sports 27 25 19 29 *=100
April, 1998 27 28 18 27 *=100
April, 1996 26 28 21 25 *=100
c. Business and finance 14 36 27 23 *=100
April, 1998 17 36 24 23 *=100
April, 1996 13 37 31 19 *=100
d. International affairs 14 45 24 17 *=100
April, 1998 16 46 23 15 *=100
April, 1996 16 46 26 12 *=100
e. Local government 20 43 21 16 *=100
April, 1998 23 44 20 13 *=100
April, 1996 24 43 21 12 *=100
f. Religion 21 32 24 23 *=100
April, 1998 18 33 25 24 *=100
April, 1996 17 31 29 23 *=100
g. People and events in your
own community 26 47 17 10 *=100
April, 1998 34 45 14 7 *=100
April, 1996 35 44 14 7 *=100
h. Entertainment 15 41 28 16 *=100
April, 1998 16 43 27 14 *=100
April, 1996 15 42 29 14 *=100
i. Consumer news 12 45 24 18 1=100
April, 1998 15 46 22 17 *=100
April, 1996 14 45 26 15 *=100
j. Science and technology 18 45 20 17 *=100
April, 1998 22 41 19 18 *=100
April, 1996 20 42 24 14 *=100
k. Health 29 45 15 11 *=100
April, 1998 34 46 12 8 *=100
April, 1996 34 44 14 7 1=100
1. Crime 30 45 16 9 *=100
April, 1998 36 44 13 7 *=100
April, 1996 41 43 10 6 *=100
m. Culture and the arts 10 32 28 29 1=100
April, 1998 12 33 29 26 *=100
April, 1996 9 34 32 25 *=100ROTATE
Q.27a THRU Q.27k
Overall...
ASK THOSE WHO ANSWERED
"VERY" OR "SOMEWHAT" CLOSELY IN
Q.26a [N=1,926]:
27a (T) How satisfied are you with the
media's coverage of news about political figures and
events in Washington? Are you... (READ)?
15 Very satisfied
47 Fairly Satisfied
25 Not Too Satisfied
12 Not At All Satisfied
1 Don't know/Refused
100
ASK THOSE WHO ANSWERED
"VERY" OR "SOMEWHAT" CLOSELY IN
Q.26c [N=1,623]:
27c (T) How satisfied are you with the
media's coverage of business and finance? Are you...
(READ)?
29 Very satisfied
57 Fairly Satisfied
9 Not Too Satisfied
3 Not At All Satisfied
2 Don't know/Refused
100
ASK ONLY FORM A RESPONDENTS WHO
ANSWERED "VERY" OR "SOMEWHAT"
CLOSELY IN
Q.26g [N=1,176]:
27g (A) How satisfied are you with the media's coverage
of people and events in your own community? Are
you... (READ)?
22 Very satisfied
55 Fairly Satisfied
16 Not Too Satisfied
6 Not At All Satisfied
1 Don't know/Refused
100
ASK ONLY FORM B RESPONDENTS WHO
ANSWERED "VERY" OR "SOMEWHAT"
CLOSELY IN
Q.26k [N=1,152]:
27k (B) How satisfied are you with the
media's coverage of health news?
Are you... (READ)?
22 Very satisfied
58 Fairly Satisfied
15 Not Too Satisfied
4 Not At All Satisfied
1 Don't know/Refused
100
ASK ALL:
ROTATE Q.28 thru Q.30:
28 (T) Which of the following two statements best
describes you: "I follow LOCAL COMMUNITY news
closely ONLY when something important or interesting is
happening" OR "I follow LOCAL COMMUNITY news
closely most of the time, whether or not something
important or interesting is happening"?
April 1998
Follow LOCAL COMMUNITY news closely ONLY when
40 something important or interesting is happening 38
58 Follow LOCAL COMMUNITY news closely MOST of the time 61
2 Don't know/Refused 1
100 100
29 (T) Which of the
following two statements best describes you: "I
follow NATIONAL news closely ONLY when something
important or interesting is happening" OR "I
follow NATIONAL news closely most of the time, whether
or not something important or interesting is
happening"?
April 1998
Follow NATIONAL news closely ONLY when something important
50 or interesting is happening 46
48 Follow NATIONAL news closely MOST of the time 52
2 Don't know/Refused 2
100 100
30 (T) Which of the
following two statements best describes you: "I
follow INTERNATIONAL news closely ONLY when something
important or interesting is happening" OR "I
follow INTERNATIONAL news closely most of the time,
whether or not something important or interesting is
happening"?
April 1998
Follow INTERNATIONAL news closely ONLY when
64 something important or interesting is happening 63
33 Follow INTERNATIONAL news closely MOST of the time 34
3 Don't know/Refused 3
100 100
31 (T) Which of the
following two statements best describes you: "I
follow BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL news closely ONLY when
something important or interesting is happening" OR
"I follow BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL news closely most
of the time, whether or not something important or
interesting is happening"?
Follow BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL news closely ONLY when something important
60 or interesting is happening
33 Follow BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL news closely MOST of the time
7 Don't know/Refused
100
On another subject...
32 (T) Do you currently live in an area where you could
get Cable TV if you wanted it?
April April Feb
1998 1996 1994
91 Yes 91 92 89
9 No 9 8 10
* Don't know/Refused * * 1
100 100 100 100
IF YES:
33 (T) Do you currently subscribe to Cable TV?
BASED ON TOTAL RESPONDENTS: April April Feb
1998 1996 1994
67 Yes 67 69 64
24 No 24 23 25
9 DK/Refused/No cable access 9 8 11
100 100 100 100
34 (T) In general, would you describe
your political views as ...(READ)
Early
Oct Sept April June June April July
1999 1998 1998 1997 1996 1996 1994
7 Very conservative 7 8 7 7 7 7 7
30 Conservative 26 30 30 30 32 31 32
36 Moderate 41 38 37 40 38 39 39
15 Liberal, OR 16 15 15 14 14 14 15
6 Very liberal? 6 6 6 5 6 5 4
6 DK/Refused (DO NOT READ) 4 3 5 4 3 4 3
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
35 (T) Thinking about the news
again... In general, what is more important for you...
getting news that gives you GENERAL INFORMATION about
IMPORTANT events that are happening, OR getting news
that is mostly about YOUR interests and what's important
TO YOU?
67 Getting news that gives general information about important events
28 Getting news that's mostly about your interests
4 Both equally (VOL.)
1 Don't know/Refused
100
36 (T) Now I'm going to read a series
of statements about the news. For each statement,
please tell me if you completely agree with it, mostly
agree with it, mostly disagree with it, or completely
disagree with it. The first one is... (READ AND
ROTATE)
(VOL)
Don't
Completely Mostly Mostly Completely Watch DK/
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree the news Ref.
a. News is not as important
today as it once was 9 16 31 42 n/a 2=100
April, 1998 7 16 29 46 n/a 2=100
b. I find that I often watch the
news with my remote control
in hand, flipping to other
channels when I'm not
interested in the topic 36 26 17 18 2 1=100
April, 1998 29 27 21 21 1 1=100
c. I wish I had more time to
follow the news 20 33 28 18 n/a 1=100
d. People who decide what to
put on TV news or in the
newspapers are out of
touch with people like me 18 35 34 10 n/a 3=100
37 (T) Do you use a computer at your
workplace, at school, at home, or anywhere else on
at least an occasional basis?
Yes No DK/Ref
April, 2000 68 32 *=100
March, 2000 72 28 0=100
February, 2000 67 33 *=100
January, 2000 68 32 *=100
December, 1999 67 33 *=100
October, 1999 67 33 *=100
Late September, 1999 68 32 *=100
September, 1999 70 30 *=100
July, 1999 68 32 *=100
June, 1999 64 35 1=100
May, 1999 66 33 1=100
April, 1999 71 29 *=100
March, 1999 68 32 *=100
February, 1999 68 32 *=100
January, 1999 69 31 *=100
Early December, 1998 64 36 *=100
Early September, 1998 64 36 *=100
Late August, 1998 66 34 0=100
Early August, 1998 66 34 *=100
April, 1998 61 39 *=100
January, 1998 65 35 *=100
November, 1997 66 34 *=100
June, 1997 60 40 0=100
Early September, 1996 56 44 *=100
July, 1996 56 44 *=100
April, 1996 58 42 *=100
March, 1996 61 39 *=100
February, 1996 60 40 0=100
January, 1996 59 41 0=100
IF YES:
38 (T) Do you ever go online to access the Internet or
World Wide Web or to send and receive email?
BASED ON TOTAL RESPONDENTS: Doesn't
Goes Online Go Online Don't know
April, 2000 54 46 *=100
March, 2000 61 39 0=100
February, 2000 52 48 0=100
January, 2000 52 48 *=100
December, 1999 53 47 0=100
October, 1999 50 50 0=100
Late September, 1999 52 48 *=100
September, 1999 53 47 0=100
August, 1999 52 48 0=100
July, 1999 49 51 0=100
June, 1999 50 50 *=100
May, 1999 48 52 0=100
April, 1999 51 49 *=100
March, 1999 49 51 *=100
February, 1999 49 51 *=100
January, 1999 47 53 *=100
Early December, 1998 42 58 0=100
November, 1998 37 63 *=100
Early September, 1998 42 58 *=100
Late August, 1998 43 57 *=100
Early August, 1998 43 57 *=100
April, 1998 36 64 0=100
January, 1998 37 63 0=100
November, 1997 36 63 1=100
July, 1996 23 77 0=100
April, 1996 21 79 *=100
March, 1996 22 78 0=100
February, 1996 21 79 *=100
January, 1996 21 79 0=100
June, 1995* 14 86 *=100
[*NOTE: The 1995 figure combines
responses from two separate questions:
(1) Do you or anyone in your household ever use a modem
to connect to any computer bulletin boards, information
services such as CompuServe or Prodigy, or other
computers at other locations? (IF YES, PROBE: Is
that you, someone else or both?)
(2) Do you, yourself, ever use a computer at (work)
(school) (work or school) to connect with computer
bulletin boards, information services such as America
Online or Prodigy, or other computers over the
Internet?]
IF "YES" (GOES ONLINE) IN
Q.38 [N=1,803]:
39 (T) How frequently do you go online to get NEWS...
would you say every day, 3 to 5 days per week, 1 or 2
days per week, once every few weeks, or less often?
Early Early
Oct Aug July June Dec Nov Sept April June
1999 1999 1999 1999 1998 1998 1998 1998 1995
27 Everyday 25 22 21 22 25 10 23 18 6
15 3-5 days per week 14 15 15 18 17 11 16 17 9
19 1-2 days per week 22 19 22 22 22 16 21 20 15
12 Once every few weeks 11 15 14 14 10 13 14 15 13
18 Less often 20 20 19 18 18 20 19 21 28
9 No/Never (VOL.) 8 9 9 7 8 30 7 9 29
* Don't know/Refused * * 0 0 * * * * *
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
ASK OF RESPONDENTS WHO ANSWERED
"EVERYDAY, 3-5 DAYS PER WEEK, OR 1-2 DAYS PER
WEEK" IN Q.39 [N=1,109]:
40 (T) Since you started getting news online, are you
using other sources of news MORE often, LESS often, or
about the same as you used to?
Oct Nov April June
1999 1998 1998 1995
10 Yes, more often 9 16 8 4
18 Yes, less often 17 11 11 12
14 Yes, some more, others less 6 10 5 8
58 No, about the same 68 63 76 76
* Don't know/Refused * * * 0
100 100 100 100 100
ASK RESPONDENTS WHO ANSWERED
"YES, MORE OFTEN" IN Q.40 [N=106]:
41 (T) Which sources are you using MORE often? [DO NOT
READ LIST; ACCEPT MULTIPLE RESPONSES.]
April June
1998 1995
24 Newspapers 36 60
38 Television 47 58
5 Magazines 7 23
9 Radio 10 26
30 Other 22 13
9 Don't know/Refused 0 0
ASK RESPONDENTS WHO ANSWERED
"YES, LESS OFTEN" OR "YES, SOME MORE,
OTHERS LESS: IN Q.40 [N=353]:
42 (T) Which sources are you using
LESS often? [DO NOT READ LIST; ACCEPT MULTIPLE
RESPONSES.]
April June
1998 1995
35 Newspapers 43 43
41 Television 52 37
11 Magazines 13 14
15 Radio 17 28
8 Other 2 10
9 Don't know/Refused 4 3ASK
ONLY THOSE WHO GO ONLINE FOR NEWS ("EVERYDAY, 3-5
DAYS PER WEEK, 1-2 DAYS PER WEEK, ONCE EVERY FEW WEEKS,
OR LESS OFTEN" IN Q.39) [N=1,638]:
43(T) Do you sometimes go online to get... (INSERT ITEM;
ROTATE ITEMS)
BASED ON THOSE WHO GO ONLINE FOR NEWS:
Yes No DK
a. Political news 39 61 *=100
November, 1998 43 57 *=100
April, 1998 40 60 0=100
October, 1996 46 54 *=100
b. Sports news 42 58 *=100
November, 1998 47 53 0=100
April, 1998 39 61 0=100
October, 1996 46 54 0=100
c. International news 45 55 *=100
November, 1998 47 53 0=100
April, 1998 41 59 0=100
October, 1996 45 55 0=100
d. News about science/health 63 37 *=100
April, 1998 64 36 0=100
October, 1996 58 42 0=100
e. News about technology 59 41 0=100
November, 1998 59 41 0=100
April, 1998 60 40 0=100
October, 1996 64 36 *=100
f. Weather 66 34 0=100
November, 1998 64 36 0=100
April, 1998 48 52 0=100
October, 1996 47 53 0=100
g. Entertainment news 44 56 *=100
November, 1998 58 42 *=100
April, 1998 45 55 0=100
October, 1996 50 50 *=100
h. Local news 37 63 0=100
November, 1998 42 58 0=100
April, 1998 28 72 0=100
October, 1996 27 73 0=100
i. Business news 53 47 *=100
November, 1998 58 42 0=100
October, 1996 53 47 *=100ASK
ALL:
On another subject...
44 (T) Do you currently own shares in a
mutual fund that includes stock?
45 (T) Do you currently own stock in any
individual companies besides a company that you or
someone else in your household works for?
Nov 1997
49 Yes, own mutual fund or stock (NET) 40
45 Yes, own mutual fund 36
30 Yes, own stocks 22
50 No, don't own 58
1 Don't know/Refused 2
100 10046
(T) Do you, personally, ever trade stocks
that is, buy or sell individual stocks through a broker
or online account? (IF YES, ASK: What type of broker do
you use a personal broker or an online trading account?)
13 Yes, with personal broker/brokerage firm
5 Yes, with online trading account
2 Yes, use both
79 No, do not trade
1 Don't know/Refused
100IF YES (1-3 IN Q.46), ASK:
46a (T) When is the last time you bought or sold a
stock? Was it within the last week, within the
last month, within the last six months, within the last
year, or more than a year ago?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
20 21 27 Within last week
28 29 39 Within last month
25 28 34 Within last six months
9 9 -- Within last year
12 11 -- More than a year ago
6 2 -- Don't know/Refused
100 100 100
N=719) (N=639) (N=528)
ASK ALL:
47 (T) In deciding how and where to invest
your money, do you get most of your information and
advice from a broker or financial advisor, OR do you get
most of your information and advice on your own?
General All Active
Public Investors+ Traders++
24 38 33 From a broker or financial advisor
60 56 63 On your own
3 4 4 (DO NOT READ) Other
11 1 * (DO NOT READ) Don't invest
2 1 * Don't know/Refused
100 100 100
(N=3,142)(N=1,662)(N=528)
+ All Investors are
defined as people who own stocks or shares in a mutual
fund.
++ Active Traders are defined as people who have
traded stocks within the past 6 months.
48
(T) How involved are you PERSONALLY in
making decisions about how to manage and invest your
money? Would you say you are extremely involved,
somewhat involved, not too involved, or not at all
involved?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
48 49 66 Extremely involved
28 34 28 Somewhat involved
11 12 5 Not too involved
12 5 1 Not at all involved
1 * * Don't know/Refused
100 100 100
(N=3,142)(N=1,662)(N=528)
Finally, a few questions
about different TYPES of financial news...
49 (T) How often, if ever, do you get
information from news sources about what's currently
happening in the financial markets that is, stock market
updates and quotes for specific stocks or mutual
funds? Do you do this ... (READ)?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
16 26 45 Every day
12 16 24 Several times a week
14 17 13 About once a week
11 13 7 About once a month OR
26 21 9 Less often
20 7 2 Never (VOL.) GO TO Q.58
1 * * Don't know/Refused (VOL.) GO TO Q.58
100 100 100
(N=3,142)(N=1,662)(N=528)
IF "EVERYDAY, SEVERAL TIMES A
WEEK, ABOUT ONCE A WEEK, ABOUT ONCE A MONTH, OR LESS
OFTEN" ("1-5" IN Q.49), ASK:
50 (T) What is your MAIN NEWS SOURCE for
stock market updates and quotes for specific stocks or
mutual funds (READ; ROTATE ITEMS BUT KEEP IN SAME ORDER
FOR SUBSEQUENT BLOCKS)...?
51 (T) (IF RESPONDENT GIVES A FIRST CHOICE,
ASK:) What would you say is your SECOND most important
source? (READ RESPONSES AGAIN IF NECESSARY, OMITTING
FIRST CHOICE.)
General Public All Investors Active Traders
Main Second Main Second Main Second
24 30 26 30 21 27 Newspapers
37 28 30 30 24 32 Television
4 12 4 9 1 8 Radio
2 7 3 7 2 7 Magazines
21 13 28 13 45 14 The Internet
7 7 8 8 7 9 Other (VOL.)
5 3 1 3 * 3 Don't know/Refused
100 100 100 100 100 100
(2,527) (2,417) (1,543) (1,523) (513) (511)
IF ANSWERED "NEWSPAPERS" AS
MAIN NEWS SOURCE FOR STOCK MARKET UPDATES AND QUOTES
("1" IN Q.50), ASK:
52 (T) Thinking again about your main
source, which of the following newspapers, if any, do
you turn to most often for regular stock market updates
and quotes for specific stocks or mutual funds... (READ;
ROTATE)?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
15 12 25 The Wall Street Journal
1 1 0 The Financial Times
1 1 2 Investor's Business Daily
7 7 12 USA Today
71 74 53 Your daily newspaper
3 4 7 Other (VOL.)
2 1 1 Don't know/Refused
100 100 100
(N=612) (N=402) (N=108)
IF ANSWERED "TELEVISION" AS
MAIN NEWS SOURCE FOR STOCK MARKET UPDATES AND QUOTES
("2" IN Q.50), ASK: 53 (T)
Thinking again about your main source... Which of the
following television outlets, if any, do you turn to
most often for regular stock market updates and quotes
for specific stocks or mutual funds... (READ; ROTATE)?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
13 19 36 CNBC
27 30 28 CNN or CNN fn
6 7 6 MSNBC
9 6 7 The Fox News cable channel
10 9 7 Network television news
26 21 7 Local television news
4 4 7 Other (VOL.)
5 4 2 Don't know/Refused
100 100 100
(N=895) (N=452) (N=117)
IF ANSWERED "MAGAZINES" AS
MAIN NEWS SOURCE FOR STOCK MARKET UPDATES AND QUOTES
("4" IN Q.50), ASK:
54 (T) Thinking again about your main source... Which of
the following magazines, if any, do you turn to most
often for regular stock market updates and quotes for
specific stocks or mutual funds... (READ; ROTATE)?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
25 n/a n/a Business Week
9 n/a n/a Forbes
5 n/a n/a Fortune
20 n/a n/a Money Magazine
4 n/a n/a Smart Money
20 n/a n/a Other (VOL.)
17 n/a n/a Don't know/Refused
100
(N=60) (N=38) (N=10)
IF ANSWERED "INTERNET" AS
MAIN NEWS SOURCE FOR STOCK MARKET UPDATES AND QUOTES
("5" IN Q.50), ASK:
55 (T) Where do you go on the Internet for
regular stock market updates and quotes for specific
stocks or mutual funds... Do you mostly visit ONE
SPECIFIC website, or do you visit a lot of different
websites?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
56 57 55 One specific website GO TO Q.55a
42 41 44 Lots of different websites GO TO Q.56
2 2 1 Don't know/Refused GO TO Q.56
100 100 100
(N=568) (N=443) (N=236)
IF "ONE SPECIFIC WEBSITE"
("1" IN Q.55), ASK:
55a (T) Is this the web page that comes up first
each time you log on to the Internet, or is it some
other page that you go to?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
46 46 41 Yes, it's the opening page/home page
54 54 58 No, it's some other
* * 1 Don't know/Refused
100 100 100
(N=319) (N=256) (N=133)
ASK ALL INTERNET USERS WHO GET REGULAR
STOCK UPDATES ("1" IN Q.38 AND "1-5"
IN Q.49):
56 (T) Do you have a customized web page
online that gives you prices for the stocks or mutual
funds that you personally own?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
25 34 58 Yes
74 65 42 No
1 1 * Don't know/Refused
100 100 100
(N=1,584) (N=1,098)(N=415)
IF RESPONDENT HAS A CUSTOMIZED WEB
PAGE FOR STOCK PRICES AND GOES TO ONE SPECIFIC SITE FOR
STOCK UPDATES WHICH IS NOT HOME PAGE OR OPENING PAGE
("1" IN Q.56 AND "1" IN Q.55 AND
"2" OR "'9" IN Q.55a), ASK: 56a
(T) Is this the website you use most often for
regular stock market updates and quotes for specific
stocks or mutual funds, OR is there some other site?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
83 86 88 That is the main source
14 11 8 There's some other
3 3 4 Don't know/Refused
100 100 100
(N=85) (N=78) (N=57)
ASK THOSE WHO GET REGULAR STOCK
UPDATES ("1-5" IN Q.49):
57 (T) Do you ever use a cell phone, a pager
or any other type of wireless device to get regular
stock market updates and quotes for specific stocks or
mutual funds? (IF YES, ASK: Which do you use, a cell
phone, a pager or some other device?) (ACCEPT MULTIPLE
RESPONSES)
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
4 6 11 Yes, cell phone
2 2 4 Yes, pager
1 1 1 Yes, other
93 92 86 No
1 * * Don't know/Refused
(N=2,527)(N=1,543) (N=513)
ASK ALL:
58 (T) And next...How often, if ever, do you
get information from news sources about INVESTING that
is, information that helps you decide how and where to
invest your money? Do you do this... (READ)?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
4 7 17 Every day
5 8 19 Several times a week
9 12 16 About once a week
13 18 19 About once a month OR
38 38 19 Less often
29 16 9 Never (VOL.) GO TO Q.65
2 1 1 Don't know/Refused (VOL.) GO TO Q.65
100 100 100
(N=3,142)(N=1,662) (N=528)
IF "EVERYDAY, SEVERAL TIMES A
WEEK, ABOUT ONCE A WEEK, ABOUT ONCE A MONTH, OR LESS
OFTEN" ("1-5" IN Q.58), ASK:
59 (T) What is your MAIN NEWS SOURCE for
information that helps you decide how and where to
invest your money... (READ USING ORDER FROM Q.50)?
60 (T) (IF RESPONDENT GIVES A FIRST CHOICE,
ASK:) What would say is your SECOND most important
source? (READ RESPONSES AGAIN IF NECESSARY, OMITTING
FIRST CHOICE.)
General Public All Investors Active Traders
Main Second Main Second Main Second
23 27 24 28 18 29 Newspapers
26 26 21 26 19 25 Television
3 9 3 7 2 5 Radio
6 11 7 11 7 12 Magazines
18 15 22 15 35 17 The Internet
9 3 13 4 12 4 Broker/Financial advisor (VOL.)
8 6 7 6 5 6 Other (VOL.)
7 3 3 3 2 2 Don't know/Refused
100 100 100 100 100 100
(2,243) (2,104) (1,407) (1,360) (480) (472)
IF ANSWERED "NEWSPAPERS" AS
MAIN SOURCE THAT HELPS DECIDE HOW AND WHERE TO INVEST
("1" IN Q.59), ASK:
61 (T) Thinking again about your main
source... Which of the following newspapers, if any, do
you turn to most often for information that helps you
decide how and where to invest your money... (READ;
ROTATE)?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
22 24 40 The Wall Street Journal
2 2 4 The Financial Times
3 2 4 Investor's Business Daily
9 8 7 USA Today
59 58 40 Your daily newspaper
4 5 4 Other (VOL.)
1 1 1 Don't know/Refused
100 100 100
(N=523) (N=339) (N=90)
IF ANSWERED "TELEVISION" AS
MAIN SOURCE THAT HELPS DECIDE HOW AND WHERE TO INVEST
("2" IN Q.59), ASK:
62 (T) Thinking again about your main
source... Which of the following television outlets, if
any, do you turn to most often for information that
helps you decide how and where to invest your money...
(READ; ROTATE)?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
14 18 31 CNBC
25 27 27 CNN or CNN fn
8 8 10 MSNBC
8 6 8 The Fox News cable channel
10 9 3 Network television news
27 25 13 Local television news
4 4 6 Other (VOL.)
4 3 2 Don't know/Refused
100 100 100
(N=553) (N=280) (N=83)
IF ANSWERED "MAGAZINES" AS
MAIN SOURCE THAT HELPS DECIDE HOW AND WHERE TO INVEST
("4" IN Q.59), ASK:
63 (T) Thinking again about your main
source... Which of the following magazines, if any, do
you turn to most often for information that helps you
decide how and where to invest your money... (READ;
ROTATE)?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
21 14 n/a Business Week
9 10 n/a Forbes
10 10 n/a Fortune
28 33 n/a Money Magazine
8 8 n/a Smart Money
17 19 n/a Other (VOL.)
7 6 n/a Don't know/Refused
100 100
(N=151) (N=105) (N=38)
IF ANSWERED "INTERNET" AS
MAIN SOURCE THAT HELPS DECIDE HOW AND WHERE TO INVEST
("5" IN Q.59), ASK:
64 (T) Where do you go on the Internet for
information that helps you decide how and where to
invest your money... Do you mostly visit ONE SPECIFIC
website, or do you visit a lot of different websites?
General All Active
Public Investors Traders
34 36 34 One specific website
63 61 64 Lots of different websites
3 3 2 Don't know/Refused
100 100 100
(N=418) (N=310) (N=167)
ASK ALL:
Finally, I'd like to ask you a few questions for
statistical purposes only. 65 (T) Do you
have any type of personal computer, including laptops,
in your home? These do not include game machines such as
Nintendo or Sega.
Nov 1998 June 1995 Feb 1994
59 Yes 43 36 31
41 No 57 64 69
* DK/Refused * * 0
100 100 100 10066 (T) Do you happen to have (READ; ROTATE), or not? How about...
Yes No DK/Ref.
a. A cell phone 53 47 *=100
June, 1995 24 76 *=100
b. A pager 24 76 *=100
c. A satellite dish 18 82 *=100
June, 1995 6 94 *=100
February, 1994 4 96 *=100
d. A DVD player 16 83 1=100
e. A palm pilot 5 91 4=100 PEW RESEARCH CENTER FOR THE PEOPLE & THE PRESS
MAY 2000 BELIEVABILITY STUDY
-- FINAL TOPLINE --
P.1 ASKED MAY 5 - 16, 2000 [N=911]:
Q.P1 Now, I'm going to read a list. Please rate
how much you think you can BELIEVE each organization I
name on a scale of 4 to 1. On this four point
scale, "4" means you can believe all or most
of what the organization says. "1" means
you believe almost nothing of what they say. How
would you rate the believability of (READ ITEM.
ROTATE LIST) on this scale of 4 to 1? (INTERVIEWERS:
PROBE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN "NEVER HEARD OF"
AND "CAN'T RATE")
Cannot Never
Believe Believe Heard Can't
4 3 2 1 of Rate
a. USA Today 17 31 20 7 2 23=100
May, 1998 18 35 21 5 2 19=100
April, 1996 20 34 20 9 3 14=100
February, 1993 20 36 21 7 1 15=100
August, 1989 21 32 18 5 6 18=100
June, 1985 13 26 13 2 4 42=100
b. ABC News 26 36 20 6 * 12=100
May, 1998 28 43 18 4 * 7=100
April, 1996 30 44 17 5 * 4=100
February, 1993 34 42 17 4 * 3=100
August, 1989 30 46 14 3 1 7=100
June, 1985 32 51 11 1 * 5=100
c. The Wall Street Journal 27 24 9 6 4 30=100
May, 1998 30 30 9 4 2 25=100
April, 1996 28 29 13 7 3 20=100
February, 1993 30 32 14 6 2 16=100
August, 1989 30 26 9 3 6 26=100
June, 1985 25 23 6 2 1 43=100
d. The daily newspaper you
are most familiar with 23 38 24 8 * 7=100
May, 1998 27 36 24 7 * 6=100
April, 1996 24 37 26 8 * 5=100
February, 1993 22 41 25 8 * 4=100
August, 1989 26 41 24 7 * 2=100
June, 1985 28 52 13 2 * 5=100
e. The Associated Press 16 32 22 7 5 18=100
May, 1998 15 36 24 6 4 15=100
April, 1996 14 40 22 9 3 12=100
February, 1993 16 39 23 7 3 12=100
August, 1989 21 43 18 4 6 9=100
June, 1985 21 40 11 2 2 24=100
f. CNN 33 32 14 5 1 15=100
May, 1998 37 35 11 4 1 12=100
April, 1996 34 37 14 4 1 10=100
February, 1993 41 35 10 4 2 8=100
August, 1989 33 31 11 2 8 16=100
June, 1985 20 24 7 1 10 38=100
g. NBC News 26 37 21 7 * 9=100
May, 1998 28 42 20 4 * 6=100
April, 1996 28 46 18 5 * 3=100
February, 1993 31 42 18 6 * 3=100
August, 1989 32 47 14 2 * 5=100
June, 1985 31 51 12 1 * 5=100
h. CBS News 26 37 20 7 * 10=100
May, 1998 26 43 21 4 * 6=100
April, 1996 30 42 17 6 * 5=100
February, 1993 31 44 16 5 * 4=100
August, 1989 29 45 16 4 1 5=100
June, 1985 33 51 11 1 * 4=100
i. C-SPAN 21 24 11 6 10 28=100
May, 1998 20 26 12 4 12 26=100
April, 1996 19 24 12 9 10 26=100
j. Time Magazine 22 30 16 6 2 24=100
May, 1998 21 38 17 4 1 19=100
June, 1985 27 38 10 2 * 23=100
k. People Magazine 8 18 30 20 2 22=100
May, 1998 8 21 34 16 1 20=100
June, 1985 8 22 28 12 1 29=100
l. Newsweek 17 32 17 7 2 25=100
May, 1998 19 40 16 5 1 19=100
June, 1985 23 40 9 2 * 26=100
m. The National Enquirer 3 3 8 68 2 16=100
May, 1998 3 4 11 69 1 12=100
June, 1985 4 7 11 54 1 23=100
n. The NewsHour
with Jim Lehrer 13 18 13 8 18 30=100
May, 1998 15 21 12 5 19 28=100
June, 1985 18 17 6 2 29 28=100
o. Your local TV news 30 39 19 6 * 6=100
May, 1998 32 38 19 6 * 4=100
June, 1985 34 47 13 1 * 5=100
p. Dateline NBC 26 31 19 6 2 16=100
May, 1998 23 39 19 5 2 13=100
q. 60 Minutes 31 37 17 7 * 8=100
May, 1998 32 37 20 4 * 7=100
r. MSNBC 19 29 15 6 8 23=100
[FORM 1 N=460]
s.F1 National Public Radio 16 21 18 8 13 24=100
May, 1998 13 34 17 7 7 22=100
[FORM 2 N=451]
t.F2 "All Things Considered"
on National Public
Radio 14 26 20 10 10 20=100
May, 1998 14 31 24 4 11 16=100
June, 1985 10 21 9 1 32 27=100
u. The Fox News CABLE
Channel 19 28 19 9 3 22=100
P.2 ASKED JUNE 1 - 6, 2000:
Q.P2 Now I am going to read a list of ONLINE news
sources. Please rate how much you think you can
BELIEVE each site I name on a scale of 4 to 1. On
this four point scale, "4" means you can
believe all or most of what you see on the site.
"1" means you believe almost nothing of what
you see. How would you rate the believability of
(READ ITEM. ROTATE LIST) on this scale of 4 to 1?
(INTERVIEWERS: PROBE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN "NEVER
HEARD OF" AND "CAN'T RATE.")
BASED ON ONLINE USERS [N=308]:
Cannot Never
Believe Believe Heard Can't
4 3 2 1 of Rate
a. AOL News Channel 13 26 10 6 22 23=100
b. ABCNews.com 29 27 7 4 11 22=100
c. CNN.com 39 23 5 4 10 19=100
d. MSNBC.com 28 26 12 3 11 20=100
e. CBSNews.com 28 30 7 3 11 21=100
f. FoxNews.com 20 21 14 3 16 26=100
g. Salon 2 1 6 7 65 19=100
h. Slate 1 1 6 6 68 18=100
i. About.com 3 7 7 5 55 23=100
j. Yahoo 21 33 17 3 8 18=100
k. Netscape 17 22 13 4 20 24=100
l. Lycos.com 7 17 10 5 38 23=100
m. Go Network 5 9 7 5 49 25=100
n. CNET.com 8 13 9 5 41 24=100
o. ZDNet.com 7 5 7 6 56 19=100
p. USAToday.com 24 27 10 3 12 24=100
q. New York Times.com 24 19 8 5 16 28=100
Reports by the Pew
Research Center
- "For The People& the press" -
They are an independent opinion research
group, sponsored by The
Pew Charitable Trusts, that studies public attitudes
toward the press, politics and public policy issues. The
Center's main purpose is to serve as a forum for ideas
on the media and public policy through its research...
Related Links:
The
PEW Research Center
