Institutions of Democracy

As the talking heads, columnists, and political reporters begin to presuppose the biographical data and issue positions of the presidential contenders, an Annenberg Public Policy Center survey raises a caution. Biography matters; the public is still learning some of those details the elites take for granted.

Only one in four of the network stories aired before the primaries and before the general election were issue-oriented, and the networks averaged a little over a minute per night per network in candidate-centered discourse. Researchers examined network television coverage of the political campaigns for the 30 days preceding the Super Tuesday primaries and the

While on certain issues people appreciate the distinctions between candidates, there are a number of areas in which the electorate has more to learn.

Those “Not Much Interested in Politics” Have Begun Focusing On Campaign More Americans were able to correctly identify the presidential candidates’ positions on a host of issues after the first two debates than they were prior to the debates, according to a new study released today by the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Upcoming Debates Could Solidify Undecideds’ Choice for President With over half of all Americans unable to identify Al Gore and George W. Bush’s positions on issues ranging from the economy to health care to education to crime, the debates that begin tomorrow night could play a major role in deciding the outcome of this election,

Men More Likely than Women to Know Policy Positions and More Likely to Feel they Can Make an Informed Choice for President In this analysis the Annenberg Public Policy Center examines why only one in two Americans (49 percent) feels she or he has learned enough about Al Gore and George W. Bush to make

Low Ratings Do Not Equate to Lack of Interest in Presidential Campaign Despite the fact that over half of all Americans watched only a few minutes or less of the Republican National Convention, the convention increased interest in network and cable news coverage of the presidential campaign and awareness of George W. Bush’s policy positions,

Fifty-five percent of Americans feel they don’t yet know enough about the candidates in the presidential election to make an informed choice, and most don’t know where George W. Bush and Al Gore stand on major policy issues according to new research from the Annenberg 2000 survey released today by the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

At the start of the party conventions much of the public does not know the candidates’ backgrounds and policies.

The 2000 Nominating Campaign: Endorsements, Attacks, and Debates While an endorsement from a politician, newspaper or interest group helped candidates attract voters in the 2000 primaries, endorsements also had a ricochet effect of driving voters to other candidates, according to a new report released from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.