News Interest % following each story very closely
Close to four-in-ten (37%) Americans say they followed news about the economy very closely last week, a level of interest little changed since the start of December; 14% say they followed news about the economy most closely. Partisan differences on economic news are slight.
Other stories garnered relatively low interest, including the visit to the U.S. by Chinese President Hu Jintao, news about political instability and earthquake recovery in Haiti and news about instability in Tunisia following the government’s collapse there.
Just more than one-in-ten (13%) say they followed news about the Chinese leader’s visit very closely, while 3% say this was the news they followed most closely. There are no significant differences in interest among partisans.
Meanwhile, 16% say they followed reports out of Haiti very closely and 7% say they followed news about instability in Tunisia that closely. News out of Haiti accounted for 3% of coverage, while news about Tunisia accounted for 2%.
News Interest  | % following each story very closely  | Which one story did you follow most closely?  | Ariz, shootings  | 45  | 44  | Economy  | 37  | 14  | Health care vote  | 29  | 12  | 5 3  | 13  | Hu Jintao visit  | Troubles in Haiti  | 16  | Instability in Tunisia  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER, January 20-23, 2011 