the public's use of the press

During the Iraq War and occupation, the American people have been paying attention ...

The American public has been highly attentive to the Iraq war and its aftermath. The Pew Center for the People & The Press reports that Iraq was the mostly closely followed news story in 2003, although public interest fluctuated during the year:

There is some anecdotal evidence that interest has been shrinking in recent months. On January 9, 2004, Newsweek's Christopher Dickey complained of shrinking television coverage and wrote "As my friend the newspaperman told me on a brief visit back to the States, 'You talk to people here about what's happening in Iraq and their eyes glaze over after two seconds. I mean, even members of your own family!'"

... but not always getting the facts right. ...

According to a survey taken in August and September, 2003 by the Program On International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) and Knowledge Networks, many Americans were misinforned about key questions related to the Iraq War. Months after the defeat of Iraq,

In fact, there is no evidence that Saddam Hussein's Iraq had significant connections with al-Quaeda; no weapons of mass destruction were used in the War or have been found since; and world opinion is largely against the invasion. Nevertheless, 60% of all those polled held at least one of the three misperceptions.

Moreover, those who were misinformed on these points were more likely than other people to favor the war. Among those who were wrong about all three issues, 86% supported the war. Among those who were correct about all three matters, just 23% favored the war.

And it matters where they get their news.

Finally, the PIPA study found that levels of misinformation varied depending on people's primary news source. Of those who said that they obtained most of their news from the Fox network, 80 percent held at least one of the misconceptions described above. Among those who chose CNN as the primary news source, 55 percent held at least one misconception. And of those who chose NPR/PBS, 23 percent were misinformed on at least one major point. These differences shrank but did not disappear when PIPA controlled for demographic factors and party preference. For example, Democrats who watch Fox News are considerably worse informed than Democrats who do not.

	The Public and the Press
Public Opinion		Discussion Forum
Press coverage The Media and the War in Iraq Media Coverage of Weapons of Mass Destruction Center for International and Security Studies, University of Maryland War Correspondents Speak Background: A Brief History of War Coverage & Censorship Analyzing Coverage	During the Iraq War and occupation, the American people have been paying attention ... The American public has been highly attentive to the Iraq war and its aftermath. The Pew Center for the People & The Press reports that Iraq was the mostly closely followed news story in 2003, although public interest fluctuated during the year: There is some anecdotal evidence that interest has been shrinking in recent months. On January 9, 2004, Newsweek's Christopher Dickey complained of shrinking television coverage and wrote "As my friend the newspaperman told me on a brief visit back to the States, 'You talk to people here about what's happening in Iraq and their eyes glaze over after two seconds. I mean, even members of your own family!'" ... but not always getting the facts right. ... According to a survey taken in August and September, 2003 by the Program On International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) and Knowledge Networks, many Americans were misinforned about key questions related to the Iraq War. Months after the defeat of Iraq, 57 percent thought that Iraq was either directly involved with the 9/11 attacks in the United States, or "gave substantial support to al-Qaeda." 24 percent believed that weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq after the War. Twenty percent said that Iraq had used "chemical or biological weapons in the war just ended." 56 percent thought either that most people around the world favored the US intervention in Iraq, or that world opinion was "evenly balanced." In fact, there is no evidence that Saddam Hussein's Iraq had significant connections with al-Quaeda; no weapons of mass destruction were used in the War or have been found since; and world opinion is largely against the invasion. Nevertheless, 60% of all those polled held at least one of the three misperceptions. Moreover, those who were misinformed on these points were more likely than other people to favor the war. Among those who were wrong about all three issues, 86% supported the war. Among those who were correct about all three matters, just 23% favored the war. And it matters where they get their news. Finally, the PIPA study found that levels of misinformation varied depending on people's primary news source. Of those who said that they obtained most of their news from the Fox network, 80 percent held at least one of the misconceptions described above. Among those who chose CNN as the primary news source, 55 percent held at least one misconception. And of those who chose NPR/PBS, 23 percent were misinformed on at least one major point. These differences shrank but did not disappear when PIPA controlled for demographic factors and party preference. For example, Democrats who watch Fox News are considerably worse informed than Democrats who do not.	Philosophical Perspectives on .... The Military The Current War The Press