News Interest vs. News Coverage News Interest
News about the economy topped the public’s news interest last week, though many Americans also closely tracked the fallout from the midterm elections and the debate over enhanced security measures at the nation’s airports.
About three-in-ten (29%) say they followed news about the economy more closely than other major stories, while 20% say they followed news about the election outcome most closely. At the start of a busy holiday travel period, 14% say they most closely followed news about tougher passenger screening procedures at airports, according to the latest News Interest Index survey conducted Nov. 18-21 among 1,004 adults.
The media divided coverage among top stories, including the economy (11% of coverage) and the election outcome (9%), according to a separate analysis by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. News about airport security screening procedures made up 6% of the newshole measured by PEJ, while coverage of the situation in Afghanistan accounted for 7%.
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