Hot Topics
Survey Reports
January 11, 2004
Cable and Internet Loom Large in Fragmented Political News Universe
Questionnaire
PEW RESEARCH CENTER FOR THE PEOPLE & THE PRESS
EARLY JANUARY 2004 POLITICAL COMMUNICATIONS STUDY
FINAL TOPLINE
December 19, 2003 - January 4, 2004
N=1506
ON FORM ONE Q.1 PRECEDES Q.2 --- ON FORM TWO, Q.2 PRECEDES Q.1
Q.1 Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president? [IF DK
ENTER AS DK. IF DEPENDS PROBE ONCE WITH: Overall do you approve or disapprove of the
way George W. Bush is handling his job as president? IF STILL DEPENDS ENTER AS DK]
App- Dis- Don't
rove approve Know
January, 2004 58 35 7=100
2003
December, 2003 57 34 9=100
November, 2003 50 40 10=100
October, 2003 50 42 8=100
September, 2003 55 36 9=100
Mid-August, 2003 56 32 12=100
Early August, 2003 53 37 10=100
Mid-July, 2003 58 32 10=100
Early July, 2003 60 29 11=100
June, 2003 62 27 11=100
May, 2003 65 27 8=100
April 10-16, 2003 72 22 6=100
April 9, 2003 74 20 6=100
April 2-7, 2003 69 25 6=100
March 28-April 1, 2003 71 23 6=100
March 25-27, 2003 70 24 6=100
March 20-24, 2003 67 26 7=100
March 13-16, 2003 55 34 11=100
February, 2003 54 36 10=100
January, 2003 58 32 10=100
2002
December, 2002 61 28 11=100
Late October, 2002 59 29 12=100
Early October, 2002 61 30 9=100
Mid-September, 2002 67 22 11=100
Early September, 2002 63 26 11=100
Late August, 2002 60 27 13=100
August, 2002 67 21 12=100
Late July, 2002 65 25 10=100
July, 2002 67 21 12=100
June, 2002 70 20 10=100
April, 2002 69 18 13=100
Early April, 2002 74 16 10=100
February, 2002 78 13 9=100
January, 2002 80 11 9=100
2001
Mid-November, 2001 84 9 7=100
Early October, 2001 84 8 8=100
Late September, 2001 86 7 7=100
Mid-September, 2001 80 9 11=100
Early September, 2001 51 34 15=100
August, 2001 50 32 18=100
July, 2001 51 32 17=100
June, 2001 50 33 17=100
May, 2001 53 32 15=100
April, 2001 56 27 17=100
March, 2001 55 25 20=100
February, 2001 53 21 26=100
ON FORM ONE Q.1 PRECEDES Q.2 --- ON FORM TWO, Q.2 PRECEDES Q.1
Q.2 All in all, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in this country
today?
Sat- Dis- No
isfied satisfied Opinion
January, 2004 45 48 7=100
December, 2003 44 47 9=100
October, 2003 38 56 6=100
August, 2003 40 53 7=100
April, 2003 50 41 9=100
January, 2003 44 50 6=100
September, 2002 41 55 4=100
Late August, 2002 47 44 9=100
May, 2002 44 44 12=100
March, 2002 50 40 10=100
Late September, 2001 57 34 9=100
Early September, 2001 41 53 6=100
June, 2001 43 52 5=100
March, 2001 47 45 8=100
February, 2001 46 43 11=100
January, 2001 55 41 4=100
September, 2000 51 41 8=100
June, 2000 47 45 8=100
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 Feb, 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 (RVs) 50 45 5=100
May, 1988 41 54 5=100
January, 1988 39 55 6=100
Q.3 How closely have you been following news about the race for the Democratic presidential
nomination very closely, fairly closely, not too closely, or not at all closely?
Very Fairly Not too Not at all
Closely Closely Closely Closely DK/Ref
January, 2004 14 32 30 23 1=100
December, 2003 16 26 27 30 1=100
November, 2003 11 26 34 28 1=100
October, 2003 12 27 28 32 1=100
September, 2003 17 25 30 27 1=100
Mid-August, 2003 12 27 27 33 1=100
May, 2003 8 19 31 41 1=100
January, 2003 14 28 29 28 1=100
January, 2000 19 34 28 18 1=100
January, 1996 10 34 31 24 1=100
January, 1992 11 25 36 27 1=100
November, 1987 15 28 35 21 1=100
Q.4 How have you been getting most of your news about the presidential election campaign?
From television, from newspapers, from radio, from magazines, or from the Internet?
[ACCEPT TWO ANSWERS: IF ONLY ONE RESPONSE IS GIVEN, PROBE FOR ONE ADDITIONAL RESPONSE]
June Feb Jan Sept April Feb Sept Jun May March Feb
2000 2000 2000 1996 1996 1996 1992 1992 1992 1992 1992
79 Television 65 73 75 75 81 85 83 84 86 83 80
39 Newspapers 27 33 31 44 48 56 49 55 51 48 49
15 Radio 11 15 12 14 21 21 13 18 17 14 18
13 Internet 5 7 6 2 2 2 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
2 Magazines 2 2 3 5 6 5 5 7 6 4 4
2 Other 2 2 3 2 3 1 4 4 3 3 3
2 Don't know/Ref. 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 * 1 * 1
IF RESPONDENT ANSWERED '1' TELEVISION AS EITHER 1ST OR 2ND RESPONSE IN Q.4 ASK Q.5.
IF NOT, SKIP TO Q.6
Q.5 Do you get most of your news about the presidential election campaign from [READ, RANDOMIZE
ITEMS 2 THRU 4 AND 5 THRU 8 SEPARATELY, AND RANDOMIZE SETS OF ITEMS
(LOCAL; NETWORK; CABLE). ACCEPT MULTIPLE ANSWERS BUT DO NOT PROBE FOR
ADDITIONAL]
BASED ON TOTAL:
22 CNN Cable news
20 The Fox News Cable Channel
17 Local news programming
15 ABC Network news
14 NBC Network news
11 CBS Network news
7 MSNBC Cable news
3 CNBC Cable news
3 Don't know/Refused (VOL.)
ASK ALL:
Q.6 And how much do you enjoy keeping up with political news about campaigns and elections...
a lot, some, not much, or not at all?
17 A lot
37 Some
29 Not much
16 Not at all
1 Don't know/Refused
100
Q.7 If there is a Democratic primary election or caucus in your state next year, how likely is it
that you will vote? Are you very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, or not at all likely
to vote in the Democratic primaries? [INTERVIEWER: IF RESPONDENT IS NOT SURE WHETHER THEY ARE
ELIGIBLE TO VOTE, ENTER PUNCH 6]
Registered Voters
Nov Jan
Total RV 2003 2000
45 51 Very likely 45 77
15 13 Somewhat likely 16 11
9 8 Not too likely 11 3
26 24 Not at all likely 21 5
* * No primary (VOL.) 1 1
3 2 Not sure if eligible/Not eligible to participate (VOL.) 3 --
2 2 Don't know/Refused (VOL.) 3 3
100 100 100 100
N= (1506) (1167)
Q.8 Looking ahead to the general election in November, would you like to see George W. Bush
re-elected president in 2004 or would you prefer that a Democratic candidate win the election?
[INTERVIEWER: IF R SAYS "OTHER" OR "SOMEONE ELSE," PROBE ONCE: "If you had to choose, would you
like to see George W. Bush re-elected or would you prefer that a Democratic candidate win the
election?"]
-------- Total --------- --- Registered Voters ---
Bush Prefer Other/ Bush Prefer Other/
Re-elected Democrat DK Re-elected Democrat DK
January, 2004 43 43 14=100 44 42 14=100 (N=1167)
December, 2003 47 38 15=100 49 37 14=100
October, 2003 40 44 16=100 42 42 16=100
September, 2003 44 43 13=100 45 43 12=100
August, 2003 40 39 21=100 43 38 19=100
Mid-July, 2003 45 37 18=100 47 37 16=100
April, 2003 46 35 19=100 48 34 18=100
Late March, 2003 (Gallup) 51 36 13=100 51 36 13=100
Mid-March, 2003 (Gallup) 45 42 13=100 45 42 13=100
February, 1992 40 48 12=100 39 49 12=100
January, 1992 42 42 16=100 41 45 14=100
November, 1991 41 43 16=100 41 44 15=100
Q.9 I am going to read you the names of some possible candidates for the Democratic nomination for
president in 2004. AFTER I READ ALL THE NAMES, please tell me which one you would most like to
see nominated as the Democratic party's candidate for president? (PROBE: PLEASE WAIT UNTIL I
READ THE ENTIRE LIST OF NAMES BEFORE YOU RESPOND.) (READ AND RANDOMIZE. IF "None" OR "Don't
know/Refused" PROBE ONCE WITH: Well as of today, to whom do you most lean?)
IF CANDIDATE GIVEN (1 thru 10 in Q.9) ASK:
Q.10 And who would be your SECOND choice? (READ LIST AGAIN IF NEEDED)
BASED ON DEMOCRATS/LEAN DEMOCRAT WHO ARE VERY/SOMEWHAT LIKELY TO VOTE [N=476]:
Nov 2003
Choice Choice
1st 2nd 1st 2nd
27 16 Howard Dean 15 15
13 11 Joe Lieberman 12 10
10 10 Richard Gephardt 12 7
10 11 Wesley Clark 15 8
7 9 John Kerry 6 10
6 2 John Edwards 5 3
5 4 Al Sharpton 5 4
3 3 Carol Moseley Braun 4 3
2 2 Dennis Kucinich 2 2
1 * Other (VOL) 1 1
-- 4 None/Wouldn't vote (VOL) -- 4
-- 16 No 1st choice -- 23
16 12 Don't Know/No answer (VOL) 23 10
100 100 100 100
ASK ALL:
RANDOMIZE ORDER OF T.1 THRU T.6
QT.1 Suppose the 2004 presidential election were being held TODAY, and the candidates were [READ,
ROTATE]. Who would you vote for? IF OTHER OR DK (3,9 IN QT.1) ASK:
QT.1a As of TODAY, do you LEAN more to [READ, ROTATE IN SAME ORDER AS QT.1]?
BASED ON REGISTERED VOTERS [N=1167]: Oct
2003
53 George W. Bush, the Republican/Lean Bush 52
42 Howard Dean, the Democrat/Lean Dean 41
5 Other candidate/Don't Know (VOL.) 7
100 100
QT.2 Suppose the 2004 presidential election were being held TODAY, and the candidates were [READ,
ROTATE]. Who would you vote for? IF OTHER OR DK (3,9 IN QT.2) ASK:
QT.2a As of TODAY, do you LEAN more to [READ, ROTATE IN SAME ORDER AS QT.2]?
BASED ON REGISTERED VOTERS [N=1167]: Oct
2003
52 George W. Bush, the Republican/Lean Bush 53
42 Joe Lieberman, the Democrat/Lean Lieberman 41
6 Other candidate/Don't Know (VOL.) 6
100 100
T.3 Suppose the 2004 presidential election were being held TODAY, and the candidates were [READ,
ROTATE]. Who would you vote for? IF OTHER OR DK (3,9 IN T.3) ASK:
T.3a As of TODAY, do you LEAN more to [READ, ROTATE IN SAME ORDER AS T.3]?
BASED ON REGISTERED VOTERS [N=1167]:
54 George W. Bush, the Republican/Lean Bush
39 John Edwards, the Democrat/Lean Edwards
7 Other candidate/Don't Know (VOL.)
100
T.4 Suppose the 2004 presidential election were being held TODAY, and the candidates were [READ,
ROTATE]. Who would you vote for? IF OTHER OR DK (3,9 IN T.4) ASK:
T.4a As of TODAY, do you LEAN more to [READ, ROTATE IN SAME ORDER AS T.4]?
BASED ON REGISTERED VOTERS [N=1167]: Oct
2003
52 George W. Bush, the Republican/Lean Bush 50
42 Wesley Clark, the Democrat/Lean Clark 40
6 Other candidate/Don't Know (VOL.) 10
100 100
T.5 Suppose the 2004 presidential election were being held TODAY, and the candidates were [READ,
ROTATE]. Who would you vote for? IF OTHER OR DK (3,9 IN T.5) ASK:
T.5a As of TODAY, do you LEAN more to [READ, ROTATE IN SAME ORDER AS T.5]?
BASED ON REGISTERED VOTERS [N=1167]: Oct
2003
52 George W. Bush, the Republican/Lean Bush 50
41 John Kerry, the Democrat/Lean Kerry 42
7 Other candidate/Don't Know (VOL.) 8
100 100
T.6 Suppose the 2004 presidential election were being held TODAY, and the candidates were [READ,
ROTATE]. Who would you vote for? IF OTHER OR DK (3,9 IN T.6) ASK:
T.6a As of TODAY, do you LEAN more to [READ, ROTATE IN SAME ORDER AS T.6]?
BASED ON REGISTERED VOTERS [N=1167]: Oct
2003
52 George W. Bush, the Republican/Lean Bush 49
42 Dick Gephardt, the Democrat/Lean Gephardt 43
6 Other candidate/Don't Know (VOL.) 8
100 100
ASK ALL:
Q.11 Now I want to ask you a few questions about some things that have been in the news about the
presidential campaign recently. Not everyone will have heard of them. As I read each item, tell
me if you have heard A LOT about it, SOMETHING about it, or NEVER HEARD about it.
(RANDOMIZE ITEMS)
Heard Heard Never
A Lot Something Heard DK/Ref.
a. Al Gore's endorsement of Howard Dean 33 36 30 1=100
b. Howard Dean's comment about wanting to win
the votes of "guys with Confederate flags in
their pickup trucks" 16 25 59 *=100
Q.12 Do you happen to know which of the presidential candidates [INSERT ITEM; RANDOMIZE]
a. Served as an Army general
31 Yes, named Wesley Clark
6 No, other incorrect
63 Don't know
100
b. Served as the Majority Leader in the House of Representatives
26 Yes, named Richard Gephardt
7 No, other incorrect
67 Don't know
100
NO QUESTIONS 13,14,15,16
Q.17 Thinking about the different kinds of political news available to you, what do you prefer
[READ, ROTATE]
25 Getting news from sources that share YOUR political point of view
OR
67 Getting news from sources that DON'T have a particular political point of view
8 Don't know/Refused (VOL. DO NOT READ)
100
Q.18 Now I'd like to ask you about some specific ways in which you might be getting news about the
presidential campaign. For each item that I read, please tell me how often, if ever, you LEARN
SOMETHING about the PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN or the CANDIDATES from this source. (First,)
how often, if ever, do you LEARN SOMETHING about the PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN or the CANDIDATES
from (INSERT ITEM; RANDOMIZE ITEMS a THRU d AND e THRU r IN BLOCKS, a THRU d SHOULD ALWAYS COME
FIRST; ITEM f SHOULD ALWAYS DIRECTLY PRECEDE ITEM g) regularly, sometimes, hardly ever,
or never? ***OBSERVE FORM SPLITS WHERE NOTED****
RANK ORDER SUMMARY TABLE: Q.18 and Q23 (See trends for full question wording)
Some- Hardly DK/Ref/
Regularly times Ever Never Don't watch
Q18f Local TV news 42 35 8 12 3=100
Q18h Cable news networks 38 37 6 15 4=100
Q18g National network news 35 35 10 17 3=100
Q23b Your daily newspaper 31 30 16 20 3=100
Q18k TV News magazine shows 25 44 11 17 3=100
Q18n The morning television shows 20 26 10 39 5=100
Q18b Talk radio shows 17 29 21 30 3=100
Q18q Political talk shows on cable TV 14 30 12 38 6=100
Q18j National Public Radio (NPR) 14 21 12 48 5=100
Q18r The Sunday morning network talk shows 13 26 12 43 6=100
Q18e The Internet 13 20 10 50 7=100
Q18l Public television news shows 11 22 13 47 7=100
Q23d Web sites of major news organizations 11 17 10 55 7=100
Q23a News magazines 10 21 18 45 6=100
Q23c News pages of internet service providers 10 17 8 58 7=100
Q18d Late night TV shows 9 19 20 46 6=100
Q18i C-SPAN 8 21 13 51 7=100
Q18m Comedy shows 8 18 12 55 7=100
Q18a Religious radio shows 5 15 13 63 4=100
Q23e Online news magazine and opinion sites 2 6 7 78 7=100
TRENDS: Some- Hardly DK/Ref/
Regularly times Ever Never Don't watch
ASK FORM 1 [N=733]:
a.F1 Religious radio shows, such as
"Focus on the Family" 5 15 13 63 4=100
January, 2000 7 12 14 59 8=100
April, 1996 6 12 15 67 *=100
ASK FORM 2 [N=773]:
b.F2 Talk radio shows 17 29 21 30 3=100
January, 2000 15 29 19 31 6=100
April, 1996 12 25 24 39 *=100
No item c.
ASK ALL:
d. Late night TV shows such as
David Letterman and Jay Leno 9 19 20 46 6=100
January, 2000 9 19 18 45 9=100
April, 1996 6 19 19 56 0=100
e. The Internet 13 20 10 50 7=100
January, 2000 9 15 9 57 10=100
ASK FORM 1 [N=733]:
f.F1 The local TV news about your
viewing area 42 35 8 12 3=100
January, 2000 48 29 9 11 3=100
ASK ALL:
g. The national nightly network news on
CBS, ABC and NBC 35 35 10 17 3=100
January, 2000 45 29 7 16 3=100
h. Cable news networks such as CNN, MSNBC
and the FOX cable news channel 38 37 6 15 4=100
January, 2000 34 31 9 21 5=100
i. C-SPAN 8 21 13 51 7=100
January, 2000 9 21 13 46 11=100
j. National Public Radio (NPR) 14 21 12 48 5=100
January, 2000 12 21 14 43 10=100
ASK FORM 2 [N=773]:
k.F2 TV News magazine shows such as
60 Minutes, 20/20 and Dateline 25 44 11 17 3=100
January, 2000 29 40 11 16 4=100
ASK ALL:
l. Public television shows such as
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and
Washington Week in Review 11 22 13 47 7=100
January, 2000 12 24 14 40 10=100
m. Comedy shows such as Saturday Night
Live and The Daily Show 8 18 12 55 7=100
January, 2000 6 19 16 48 11=100
ASK FORM 1 [N=733]:
n.F1 The morning television shows such as The
Today Show and Good Morning America 20 26 10 39 5=100
January, 2000 18 24 11 39 8=100
no items o or p
ASK ALL:
q. Political talk shows on cable TV, such
as CNN's Crossfire and CNBC's Hardball 14 30 12 38 6=100
January, 2000 14 25 13 39 9=100
r. The Sunday morning network talk shows,
such as ABC's This Week, and NBC's
Meet the Press 13 26 12 43 6=100
January, 2000 15 21 12 41 11=100
ASK IF REGULARLY/SOMETIMES LEARN FROM LATE NIGHT OR COMEDY SHOWS (1,2 IN Q18D
OR 1,2 IN Q18M) [N=556]
Q.19 You mentioned learning about the candidates and campaign from shows such as David Letterman,
Jay Leno, Saturday Night Live or The Daily Show. Do you ever learn things about the candidates
or the presidential campaign on these shows that you haven't heard BEFORE?
May 1992
40 Yes 30
59 No 66
1 Don't know 4
100 100
(N=556)
ASK ALL:
Q.20 So far, have you watched any of the televised debates between the Democratic candidates
or haven't you had a chance to watch any of them?
Feb 1992
20 Yes 16
80 No 84
* Don't know *
100 100
Q.21 Have you happened to see any of the Democratic candidates being interviewed or appearing as
guests on news OR entertainment programs, or not? [IF YES ASK: Do you remember the name of the
show (where you most recently saw a Democratic candidate appear or be interviewed).]
Based on those who
46 Yes "Have seen..."
5 Cable news (unspecified) 11
4 Late night comedy shows 10
3 Talk news programs 6
2 Network evening news 5
2 Sunday morning news shows 5
2 Weekday morning news shows 4
1 TV news magazines 2
2 Other 5
25 Don't remember where 56
54 No
* Don't know
100
10 NET: Broadcast network programs 23
9 NET: Cable network programs 20
(N=738)
Q.22 Have you happened to see or hear parts of any speeches given by Democratic candidates on TV or
the radio, or not?
42 Yes
57 No
1 Don't know
100
Q.23 How often, if ever, do you learn something about the PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN or the CANDIDATES
from (INSERT ITEM; RANDOMIZE ITEMS a AND b FOLLOWED BY ITEMS c,d,e IN ORDER)
regularly, sometimes, hardly ever, or never?
Some- Hardly DK/
Regularly times Ever Never Refused
a News magazines such as Time,
U.S. News, and Newsweek 10 21 18 45 6=100
January, 2000 15 26 13 39 7=100
b. Your daily newspaper 31 30 16 20 3=100
January, 2000 40 26 10 16 8=100
c. The news pages of internet service
providers such as AOL News or
Yahoo News 10 17 8 58 7=100
d. The websites of news organizations such
as CNN.com, the New York Times.com, or
your local newspaper's or TV
station's websites 11 17 10 55 7=100
e. Other kinds of online news magazine
and opinion sites such as Slate.com
or the National Review online 2 6 7 78 7=100
Q.24 ASKED FOR SCREENING PURPOSES ONLY
NO QUESTIONS 25 OR 26
ASK ALL INTERNET USERS (Q.24a=1) [N=1002]:
Q.27 Have you gone online to get news or information about the 2004 elections? [IF YES, ASK: How
often do you go online to get news about the elections more than once a day, everyday,
three-to-five days per week, one-to-two days per week, or less often?
--- GO ONLINE FOR CAMPAIGN NEWS ---
More than 3-5 1-2 DON'T
once Every days days Less GO ONLINE Don't
YES a day day /week /week often FOR NEWS Know
Total
January, 2004 14 1 3 2 4 4 86 *=100
November, 2002 13 1 2 2 3 5 87 *=100
November, 2000 18 2 3 3 5 5 82 *=100
November, 1998 6 * 1 1 2 2 94 *=100
October, 1996 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Internet Users [N=1002]
January, 2004 22 2 4 4 6 6 78 0=100
November, 2002 22 1 3 4 5 9 78 *=100
November, 2000 33 4 6 6 9 8 66 1=100
November, 1998 15 1 3 2 4 5 84 1=100
October, 1996 22 * 2 2 8 10 78 0=100
IF NO (6 IN Q.27) ASK:
Q.28 Do you ever come across campaign news when you may have been going online for a different
purpose?
Internet Users [N=1002]
39 Yes
38 No
1 Don't know
78
ASK ALL INTERNET USERS (Q.24a=1):
Q.29 Have you sent or received e-mails about the candidates or campaigns, either with personal
acquaintances or from groups or political organizations?
Internet
Total Users
11 18 Yes
89 82 No/Not online
* * Don't know/Refused
100 100
N= (1506) (1002)
ASK ALL INTERNET USERS (Q.24a=1):
Q.30 Have you participated in any other campaign-related activities using the Internet, such as
reading discussion groups, signing petitions, or donating money?
Internet
Total Users
4 7 Yes
96 93 No
* * Don't know/Refused
100 100
N= (1506) (1002)
ASK IF 1 “YES” IN Q.29 OR Q.30 OR 1-5 “YES” IN Q.27:
Q.31 When you go online to get information about the ELECTIONS, do you ever do any of the
following things? First, do you ever [INSERT ITEM; RANDOMIZE]?
Internet Online for Campaign
Total Users News or Activity
a. Participate in online discussions, blogs or "chat"
groups about the elections
Yes 3 4 13
No/Not online 97 96 87
Don’t Know 0 0 0
100 100 100
b. Look for more information about candidates'
positions on the issues
Yes 11 18 52
No/Not online 89 82 48
Don’t Know 0 0 0
100 100 100
c. Find out about campaign organizations or
activities in your area
Yes 6 10 29
No/Not online 94 90 71
Don’t Know 0 0 0
100 100 100
d. Visit any of the candidates’ campaign websites
Yes 5 8 25
No/Not online 95 92 75
Don’t Know 0 0 0
100 100 100
e. Visit websites set up by groups or organizations
that promote candidates or positions
Yes 6 9 28
No/Not online 94 91 72
Don’t Know 0 0 0
100 100 100
(N=1506)(N=1002) (N=365)
NO QUESTIONS 32 THRU 36
ASK ALL:
Thinking again about the news media in general...
Q.37 To what extent do you see political bias in news coverage? A great deal, a fair amount,
not too much, or not at all?
Jan 2000 Aug 1989
30 A great deal 32 25
35 A fair amount 37 51
24 Not too much 20 19
9 Not at all 6 3
2 Don't know/Refused 5 2
100 100 100
Q.38 In the way they have been covering the presidential race so far, do you think that news
organizations are biased in favor of the Democrats, biased in favor of the Republicans,
or don't you think news organizations have shown any bias one way or the other?
Jan Sept April Aug Jan Nov
2000 1999 1996 1988 1988 1987
22 Democratic bias 19 19 20 22 9 16
17 Republican bias 13 14 14 7 10 11
38 No bias 48 52 53 58 58 62
23 Don't know/Refused 20 15 13 13 23 11
100 100 100 100 100 100 100
On another subject...
Q.39 People express their opinions about politics and current events in a number of ways. I'm going
to read a list of some of these ways. Have you EVER... (INSERT ITEM; RANDOMIZE; IF YES ASK:
Thinking ONLY ABOUT THE LAST 12 MONTHS, that is since January of 2003, have you...(INSERT ITEM)?
------- Yes, Done This -------
Within Not within
TOTAL last year last year No DK
a. Contributed money to a candidate running
for public office 20 8 12 80 *=100
January, 2000 24 8 16 75 1=100
June, 1993 19 8 11 80 1=100
b. Contacted any elected official 28 14 14 72 *=100
January, 2000 41 19 22 59 *=100
c. Joined an organization in support of a
particular cause 23 9 14 77 *=100
January, 2000 34 14 20 65 1=100
June, 1993 21 9 12 79 *=100
d. Attended a campaign event 19 5 14 81 *=100
e. Been called on the telephone by a campaign 46 25 21 53 1=100
IF CONTRIBUTED MONEY IN LAST 12 MONTHS (1 in Q.39a) ASK IMMEDIATELY AFTER:
Q.40 Have you made any campaign contributions over the Internet, or not?
8 Yes, last 12 months
1 Yes donated online
7 No not online
0 Don't know
92 No no donation last 12 months
* Don't know
100
NO QUESTION 41
ASK ALL:
Now thinking about Iraq
Q.42 Do you think the U.S. made the right decision or the wrong decision in using military force
against Iraq?
Early Late
Dec Oct Sept Aug July ---- April ---- ------ March 2003 ------ Jan
2003 2003 2003 2003 2003 10-16 8-9 2-7 28-4/1 25-27 23-24 20-22 1991
62 Right decision 67 60 63 63 67 74 74 72 69 74 74 71 77
28 Wrong decision 26 33 31 30 24 19 19 20 25 21 21 22 15
10 Don't know/Ref. 7 7 6 7 9 7 7 8 6 5 5 7 9
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Q.43 How well is the U.S. military effort in Iraq going? [READ IN ORDER]
Early
Dec Oct Sept Aug July ---- April ---- --- March 2003 ---
2003 2003 2003 2003 2003 10-16 8-9 2-7 25-4/1 23-24 20-22
23 Very well 28 16 15 19 23 61 60 55 39 45 65
47 Fairly well 47 44 47 43 52 32 32 37 46 41 25
18 Not too well 16 25 26 24 16 3 3 3 8 6 2
7 Not at all well 6 11 9 11 5 1 3 2 2 2 1
5 DK/Ref. 3 4 3 3 4 3 2 3 5 6 7
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Q.44 Do you think the U.S. should keep military troops in Iraq until a stable government is
established there, or do you think the U.S. should bring its troops home as soon as possible?
IF "KEEP TROOPS IN IRAQ" (1 IN Q.44) ASK:
Q.45 Do you think more coalition troops are needed in Iraq right now, or do you think there are
already enough troops there to do the job?
Oct Sept
2003 2003
63 Keep troops in Iraq 58 64
29 More troops needed 32 34
26 Have enough there to do the job 21 25
* Reduce number of troops (VOL.) * *
8 Don't know/Refused (VOL.) 5 5
32 Bring troops home 39 32
5 Don't know/Refused 3 4
100 100 100
NO QUESTION 46 OR 47
ASK FORM 1 ONLY [N=733]:
On a different subject...
Q.48 If the (INSERT NAME; RANDOMIZE ITEMS) said it was supporting a presidential candidate would
you be more likely to vote for that candidate, less likely to vote for that candidate or
wouldn't it make any difference?
More likely Less likely Wouldn't make DK/
to vote to vote a difference Refused
a. the Christian Coalition of America 16 14 68 2=100
b. the AFL-CIO 9 11 72 8=100
c. the Teamsters Union 11 13 72 4=100
d. the AARP 15 6 74 5=100
e. the National Rifle Association 15 18 65 2=100
f. the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 10 8 78 4=100
g. the Sierra Club 9 9 73 9=100
ASK FORM 2 ONLY [N=773]:
Q.49 If (INSERT NAME; RANDOMIZE ITEMS) said (he/she) was supporting a presidential candidate would
you be more likely to vote for that candidate, less likely to vote for that candidate or
wouldn't it make any difference?
More likely Less likely Wouldn't make DK/
to vote to vote a difference Refused
a. Your local newspaper 7 7 83 3=100
January, 2000 11 10 76 3=100
b. Your minister, priest or rabbi 13 4 80 3=100
January, 2000 18 7 70 5=100
c. Al Gore 12 18 67 3=100
d. Bill Clinton 19 19 60 2=100
e. Jay Leno 3 10 84 3=100
f. John McCain 12 6 77 5=100
g. Arnold Schwarzenegger 6 12 77 5=100
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