Measuring News Interest Week of April 28 -May 4 63 30 43
The presidential campaign once again was the most heavily covered story of the week, accounting for 38% of all news coverage. For the public, however, the rising price of gas, which emerged as a prominent issue in the campaign, was the top news story. More than six-in-ten (63%) say they followed news about gas prices very closely and 30% cited it as the story they followed most closely last week.
The public also closely tracked news about the national economy: 43% say the followed economic news very closely with 20% citing it as the story they followed most closely last week. The economy was the second most covered story, accounting for 10% of news coverage.
Interest in campaign news remained fairly stable last week. Roughly a quarter of Americans (27%) say they followed news about the presidential campaign very closely, with 16% saying they followed it more closely than other any other story. Far more Democrats than independents or Republicans tracked campaign news very closely. About four-in-ten Democrats (39%) say they paid very close attention to news about the campaign, compared with 23% of independents and 21% of Republicans.
Measuring News Interest  | Week of April 28 -May 4  | 63  | Gas prices  | 30  | 43  | Economy  | 20  | 27  | 2008 Campaign  | 16  | 27  | Iraq war veterans  | 26  | Situation in Iraq  | 6  | 12  | Austrian hostage  | Percent who followed this story very closely  | Percent who named story as their most closely followed 