Press Releases

Two-thirds of adults in the U.S. heard or read about the New York Times February 21 story alluding to a potentially inappropriate relationship between Republican presidential hopeful Senator John McCain and a female lobbyist during his presidential bid in 2000, according to recent data collected by the University of Pennsylvania’s National Annenberg Election Survey. Of

Public knowledge of the issues in the 2008 presidential election is increasing as the campaign proceeds, according to data released today by the National Annenberg Election Survey (NAES).   Although more than half of the American public still cannot answer basic questions about the presidential candidates’ records and their stands on issues, knowledge levels have

After Rush Limbaugh began strongly attacking Arizona Sen. John McCain’s conservative credentials, people who listened to the talk show host were more likely than the non-listening population — including those who describe themselves as conservatives — to believe that Sen. McCain was a moderate.   The findings, released today, are based on an across-time analysis

Kathryn Kolbert, who joined the Annenberg Public Policy Center in 1999 and launched NPR’s Justice Talking radio program the following year, is leaving to become president of People For the American Way, a national advocacy organization dedicated to preserving constitutional liberties and promoting American values. Kolbert will assume her new duties in Washington, D.C., March

FactCheck.org, the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s popular and oft-quoted political truth squad, launched a new video report today, hosted by FactCheck reporter Emi Kolawole.  New reports will be posted each Friday morning. In addition to being available on FactCheck’s home page and to FactCheck’s 66,000 email subscribers, the report, known as “Just the Facts,” will

More than nine million children in the United States are overweight, a figure that has tripled since the 1970s. Overweight children are more likely to suffer psychological and physical health problems in their youth, and those problems are likely to follow them to adulthood. Obesity may be the number-one health problem facing children today. That

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