News Interest May vs. News Coverage
The public continued to follow reports about the condition of the U.S. economy closely last week. Still, about a third (34%) say they followed reports about the swine flu in the U.S. and elsewhere most closely, slightly more than the 30% that say they followed economic stories most closely. But with the swine flu outbreak apparently not as dangerous as first feared, the share saying they followed news about the virus very closely was down 9 points from the previous week to 34%.
Meanwhile, the economy received the most coverage, filling 16% of the newshole as measured by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. That number separates out coverage of the April unemployment report and the Obama budget, which together bring total economic coverage to 21%, according to PEJ. The swine flu, which dominated news coverage the week before with 31% of coverage, dropped to the second spot – taking up 9% of the newshole – as fears eased about the immediate spread and potential lethality of the H1N1 virus.
News Interest May vs. News Coverage  | May 4-10  | Swine flu  | 34  | Economy 30  | 16  | Unemp loyment 3  | Pakistan  | 5  | Gay marriage  | Federal budget  | Interest: percent who named story as most closely followed  | Coverage: percent of news coverage devoted to story 