News Interest % following each story very closely
The recent price increases also come at a time of continued interest in the health of the U.S. economy; 14% say they followed news about the economy most closely last week. Not including news about budget fights at the state and federal levels, news about the economy accounted for 3% of the newshole.
Fewer say they very closely followed news about a deadly earthquake in New Zealand (20%) or recent developments in the debate over gay marriage (19%). Five percent say they followed news about the earthquake more closely than any other top story, while 4% say they followed news about gay marriage developments that closely. Each of these stories accounted for 4% of coverage last week, according to PEJ.
News Interest  | % following each story very closely  | Which one story did you follow most closely?  | Oil prices  | 50  | 21  | CONTERTARIZES  | Violence in Libya  | 38  | 19  | Wisc disputes  | 36  | 18  | 49  | 14  | Economy  | 20  | NZ earthquake  | 19  | Gay Marriage  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER February 24-27, 2011, 