News Interest vs. News Coverage Health care reform 45 Swine flu 16 Economy 15
After the debate over health care reform, news about swine flu and the economy vied for public attention, with other stories registering less widely.
Fully 45% say they followed reports about the condition of the U.S. economy very closely; 15% name it as their most closely followed story of the week.
According to a separate analysis of coverage by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, the health care debate took up about a third (32%) of the week’s newshole. Coverage of the economy was relatively modest, filling 9% of the newshole.
Reports about swine flu and the availability of a vaccine were followed very closely by a somewhat smaller percentage of the public (30%). However, just as many call swine flu their top story of the week (16%) as cited the economy (15%). In general, swine flu interest outpaced coverage: just 2% of the newshole was devoted to the story last week.
News Interest vs. News Coverage  | .32  | Health care reform 45  | Swine flu 16  | Economy 15  | Sept 1 1 anniversary  | 6  | Afghanistan  | 5  | Iraq  | Interest: percent who named story as most closely followed  | Coverage: percent of news coverage devoted to story 