Le Pew Research Center propose une frise chronologique (timeline) sur 15 événements qui ont marqué l’année 2012. Evidemment, comme tout choix, cette sélection est très subjective. Le critère de choix de l’institut pour déterminer l’importance de ces événements est assez simple et basé sur l’intérêt que leur ont porté les Américains. Il est a noté que les tueries par armes à feu – Ecole élémentaire de Sandy Hook, cinéma d’Aurora et Trayvor Martin – et catastrophes naturelles – tornades du Midwest en mars et les ouragans Sandy et Isaac – tiennent une place particulièrement importantes.
November 6, 2012
2012 Election
# 1 | In the days following Barack Obama’s reelection, 60% followed campaign news very closely.
December 14, 2012
Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting
# 2 | The Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Conn., shook the nation as 20 children and 6 adults were killed. 57% said they followed the tragedy very closely.
October 29, 2012
Hurricane Sandy
# 3 | Hurricane Sandy, which hit the East Coast in late October, drew very close interest from 53% of Americans. Though it struck in the final days of the presidential campaign, interest in Sandy surpassed interest in the election that week.
March 18, 2012
Rising Gas Prices
# 4 | 52% of the American public reported very closely following the rising price of oil and gas.
July 20, 2012
Mass Shooting in Aurora, Colorado
# 5 | 48% of Americans reported very closely following the deadly shootings at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater, which left 12 dead and more than 50 injured. The shootings did not sway public opinion on gun control.
June 28, 2012
Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Law
# 6 | 45% of the American public reported very closely following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the 2010 health care law. Americans were divided over the court’s decision.
October 28, 2012
The Economy
# 7 | 44% of Americans reported very closely following news about the economy. The U.S. economy continued its slow recovery in 2012, ending the year with an unemployment rate of 7.7%.
September 11, 2012
Attack in Benghazi
# 8 | 43% of Americans very closely followed the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya that resulted in the deaths of American Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
December 2, 2012
Fiscal Cliff
# 9 | 40% of Americans very closely followed the ‘fiscal cliff’ standoff over the federal budget and tax hikes set to go into effect in 2013. President Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner were the key negotiators.
May 9, 2012
President Obama Supports Gay Marriage
# 10 | 37% very closely followed President Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage — the first sitting president to do so. In 2012, public opinion shifted more in favor of gay marriage.
February 26, 2012
Shooting of Trayvon Martin
# 11 | 35% of the American public very closely followed the news about the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager who was killed in Florida by a man who served on the neighborhood watch patrol. But there was a big racial divide in interest. 70% of blacks followed the news very closely, compared with 30% of whites.
March 2, 2012
Deadly Midwest tornadoes
# 12 | 33% very closely followed the Midwest tornadoes and thunderstorms that steamrolled across the South and Midwest, resulting in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries.
August 12, 2012
2012 Summer Olympics
# 13 | 31% very closely followed the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. The United States took home 46 gold medals, including Gabrielle Douglas’s top performance in the women’s gymnastics all-around.
August 28, 2012
Hurricane Isaac
# 14 | 31% very closely followed news of Hurricane Isaac, a tropical storm that slowly marched across the Atlantic toward the U.S. causing severe damage in the Caribbean and the U.S. Gulf Coast.
October 21, 2012
Libya Investigation
# 15 | 31% very closely followed news about the investigation into the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, including 52% of those 65 and older, but just 9% of those younger than 30.