Many U.S. youth ages 14 to 22 expect to die before age 30, according to a new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.  About one out of 15 young people (6.7 percent) expressed such “unrealistic fatalism,” the study concludes. “I am surprised that one in 15 young Americans report they will die so

Data from the Annenberg National Health Communication Survey (ANHCS) is now available to the public on a new website (http://anhcs.asc.upenn.edu).  Core data from the 2005 ANHCS survey has been posted and will soon be updated to include 2006 core data and a user’s guide. The Annenberg National Health Communication Survey is designed to capture national

Newspapers are close to putting to rest the myth that the holidays increase the risk of suicide. A new study shows a dramatic drop in articles that – despite having no basis in fact – attribute the arrival of the holiday season with an uptick in suicides. An analysis of newspaper reporting released today by

Kathleen Hall Jamieson and fellow researchers accomplished what the field of 2008 presidential contenders can only dream of: They got inside voters’ brains. The results of their study were published as an op-ed in Sunday’s New York Times. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging to observe the brains of 20 swing voters, the researchers measured responses to

Political Mendacity and the Rise of Media Fact-Checkers More newspapers and television stations are fact-checking the claims of politicians, and the public seems to love it, according to factchecking practitioners and two new studies released today at a conference sponsored by FactCheck.org and the Annenberg Public Policy Center. “You get 100 e-mails saying thank-you for

Comcast MetroBeat TV, which broadcasts in the Denver area, recently won three Emmy Awards for programming affiliated with Student Voices, an initiative of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. Singled out for recognition by the Heartland Regional Emmy Awards were “Student Voices: Teen Suicide” for the best Children/Youth program; “Student Voices: Dying to Be Thin” for

In a world that is drifting, the United States must come up with a cohesive game plan to guide its diplomacy, said former Secretary of State George P. Shultz who delivered the second annual Leonore Annenberg Lecture in Public Service and Global Understanding at the University of Pennsylvania on October 18. Shultz’s address was entitled

Card playing for money among college-age youth (18 to 22) has declined, according to the latest National Annenberg Survey of Youth. Weekly use of the Internet for gambling also declined among this age group. Both declines are statistically significant.  “This year’s strong drop in weekly card playing among college-age youth indicates that the fad has

Annenberg Classroom (www.annenbergclassroom.org) has won a silver W3 award from the International Academy of Visual Arts in the education category. The W3 Award honors creative excellence in websites, web advertising and web video. More than 2,700 entries were received by the judges.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Americans who live in states that hold partisan judicial elections are more cynical toward the courts than Americans who live in states that do not hold partisan elections. Partisan judicial elections foster the belief that “judges are just politicians in robes.” Partisan judicial elections also decrease public trust that state courts are