Surveying the news
The Pew Research Center has put out a brief survey that looks at just what Americans know about the news. I would say the ignorance is shocking… except sadly it isn’t. I don’t want to tell you specifically where people were wrong, because I think you’ll want to take the test first. But in a nutshell, lots of Americans are wrong about: the unemployment rate, the degree to which the TARP “bailout” has been paid back, the results of the mid-term elections, where government expenditures go, and so forth. The quiz covers what I think (hope) most of us would think are the basics of the current (non-celebrity) news cycle. And the results explain a lot.
November 19th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
I took the quiz and did very well, 11 out of 12 questions right. I scored better than 98% percent of all those who have taken the quiz.
November 19th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
That just proves that you read this blog. ‘Cause I got 12 out of 12.
November 19th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Actually I skip the blog and did the quiz first.
November 19th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
Hm. You’re losing points by the moment. No, what I was saying was that because you read the blog, i.e., this blog, you’re equipped to do well on the quiz. Because we strive to provide all the news that’s fit to quiz.
November 20th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
I took the test and got 11 out of 12 and I’m not even American. I thought most of the questions were pretty obvious. The only one I got wrong was the current inflation rate.
November 20th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
I agree — the quiz is simple. That’s what makes the large numbers of wrong responses so disheartening. On another topic: Are you the George Freeman of “Captain Canuck” fame? It’s an honor, sir.
November 22nd, 2010 at 4:20 am
scored an ego-boosting “better than 98%” Just want to thank all the little people who made this possible….
November 27th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
That was fun.