Content Matters

...or so say the findings of a new study by the Pew Research Center.

The study, entitled "What Americans Know: 1989-2007" assesses public knowledge of leaders and news events, as compared to 1989.  We might have assumed that the advent of 24-hour news combined with the abundance of websites and blogs would have resulted in a more educated public, but that's not the case.

According to the Pew study, our knowledge of public affairs today is roughly the same as it was eighteen years ago.  But even then, some of the individual responses are shocking.  For example, while 74% of Americans surveyed could name the Vice President in 1989 (it was Quayle, for those who've forgotten), only 69% of those surveyed could identify Dick Cheney in that role today.  Considering he's probably the most powerful VP in our history, and that he was a central figure for both parties in recent elections, it's hard to believe that nearly a third of Americans don't know who he is. 

Conversely, nearly half of those surveyed were able to identify House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, compared to just 14% who knew Tom Foley when he held that role.  In this case, it seems that the Right's efforts to make the 2006 elections about Nancy Pelosi certainly improved her recognition.

Most interesting to me is the ranking of awareness based upon sources of news information.  While many criticize Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert for satirizing politics, their viewers had the highest percent of "high" scores, ahead of the News Hour, O'Reilly and NPR.  Whether young people will go to the polls in 2008 is still to be seen, but clearly they are absorbing knowledge from their entertainment.

Curious to see how you would score?  You can take the brief survey here.  Only 4% of those surveyed got all 9 correct.