Comparing News Interest Sand News Coverage News Coverage Gulf Coast oil leak 46 Economy 15
Americans stayed focused on the unfolding oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last week, while the effort to cap the underwater well and limit the damage was one of two stories that dominated media coverage.
The media devoted comparable levels of coverage to the spill and news about last week’s primaries and the 2010 midterm elections (each accounted for 18% of the newshole), but the public showed much less interest in the political developments (5% followed this most closely) than the crisis in the gulf (46% most closely).
Comparing News Interest Sand News Coverage  | News Coverage  | News Interest  | Gulf Coast oil leak 46  | 18  | Economy 15  | Afghanistan  | 3  | Elections  | 18  | Financial regulation  | 5  | Thailand  | News interest shows percentage of people who say they followed this story  | 2010 most closely Pew Research Center the for the People & the Press May 20-23 to  | 2010 story News coverage shows Center's the percentage Project of news coverage Press devoted to May  | each story Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence IN Journalism May  | 17-23 2010 