With the exception of the attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya in September, which became a bitterly debated campaign issue, no foreign news story cracked the list of top stories.

The presidential election was the year’s top story, according to Pew Research Center’s News Interest Index, which tracks interest in major stories in a weekly basis. In the days following Barack Obama’s reelection, 60% followed campaign news very closely.

The Dec. 14 shooting at an elementary school in Newtown Conn. attracted nearly as much interest; 57% followed news about the tragedy very closely. Another large-scale shooting this year – this one at an Aurora, Colo. movie theater in July – also drew widespread interest, with nearly half (48%) following this event very closely.

Hurricane Sandy, which hit the East Coast in late October, drew very close interest from 53% of Americans. Though it struck in the final days of the campaign, interest in Sandy surpassed interest in the election that week. Both Sandy and the Newtown shootings attracted overwhelming interest in the Northeast; fully 73% of those in that region tracked Sandy very closely while 70% followed the Connecticut school shootings very closely.

While the election was the year’s top political story, there also was substantial interest in several policy-related stories. Fully 45% of Americans followed the Supreme Court’s ruling on the 201o health care law; the ongoing fiscal cliff negotiations have consistently drawn interest from about four-in-ten Americans, while 37% paid very close attention to Obama’s announcement of support for same-sex marriage in May.

The absence of foreign news from the top stories list, with the exception of the Libya consulate attack, marked a contrast with last year, when several international stories drew broad interest, including the Japanese earthquake and tsunami (the top story of 2011), the killing of Osama bin Laden and the Arab Spring protests.

Gender Gap in Interest in Top Stories

Men and women paid roughly equal attention to most of the top stories of the year. However, higher percentages of women than men followed news about the large-scale shootings in Colorado and Connecticut very closely.

Fully 63% of women tracked news about the Newtown shooting very closely – making this the top story of the year for women; 58% followed the election very closely. Among men, 62% followed the election very closely, while 50% followed news about the Connecticut shooting very closely.

Women also were more likely than men to follow the shooting in a Colorado movie theater (by 14 points), the shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin (11 points) and Obama’s expression of support for gay marriage (nine points).

Among the year’s top stories, none drew significantly more interest among men than women. However, far more men than women paid greater attention to a number of other stories throughout the year, including news about Iran’s nuclear program, plans for withdrawing U.S. troops in Afghanistan and sporting events.

Racial Gap in Interest in Trayvon Martin Shooting

There was a huge racial divide in interest in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager who was shot and killed in February in a gated community in Florida.

In late March, fully 70% of blacks followed news about Martin’s shooting very closely, compared with just 30% of whites. At the time, 43% of whites said the Martin case received too much coverage; just 16% of blacks said the incident was overcovered.

In March, when gas prices rose rapidly, African Americans were more likely than whites to say they were following news about gas prices very closely (65% of blacks vs. 50% of whites).

Wide Age Differences over Many Top Stories

There are sizable age differences in interest over nearly all the year’s top stories. The gaps are particularly stark in attentiveness to some stories covering national policy and politics.

In October, just 9% of those younger than 3o paid very close attention to news about investigation into the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Libya; 52% of those 65 and older tracked news of the investigation very closely. The differences were nearly as large in interest to the Supreme Court’s ruling on the health care law and the fiscal cliff debate.

Yet there were substantial differences over other stories as well, including Hurricane Sandy and the negotiations between the president and congressional Republicans over the fiscal cliff.

Of the 15 top stories this year, there were significant differences between young adults and older Americans over 13. The only exceptions were the shootings in the Colorado movie theater and the Summer Olympics.

There were only three stories this year that as many as about half of young people followed very closely: the shootings in Connecticut (53%) and Colorado (51%), and the presidential election (48%).

Some Stories That Never Found an Audience

There were a number of important stories in 2012 that did not attract a great deal of public attention. Some were overseas stories, like the ongoing political violence in Syria. The percentage of Americans followed this story very closely has never surpassed 20%. In early December, half said they were paying little or no attention to the situation in Syria.

Similarly, the European debt crisis, which could have a major impact on the U.S. economy, has never gotten much traction with the public. In June, just 18% followed news about the crisis very closely, which was consistent with interest dating back more than a year. Measures of interest in economic problems in Greece or other individual countries have drawn about the same or less attention.

Business stories seldom draw wide interest and that was the case for stories this year about troubled, old-line U.S. companies, like Kodak, as well as rapidly growing global brands, like Facebook. Just 7% very closely followed news of Kodak’s bankruptcy announcement in January, while 12% followed news about Facebook’s first public stock offering in June.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Facebook’s IPO was a major topic on social media, where there was considerable skepticism about the stock’s value, according to a May report by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

The death of singer Whitney Houston in February attracted only modest interest from the public overall. However, this story drew far more interest among blacks (40% very closely) than among whites (13%), and more interest among women (25%) than men (10%).

Another story involving a celebrity – the news that Lance Armstrong was losing sponsors after being stripped of his Tour de France titles – drew little interest in any demographic group; just 8% of the public followed news about Armstrong very closely.

Finally, a story that set science aficionados abuzz – the discovery of a new subatomic particle called the Higgs boson, believed to be the basic building block of the universe – drew very close attention from just 12% of the public. While overall interest in the so-called “God particle” was limited, the story was unusual in that it drew as much attention from young people as from older adults.

A series of major breaking stories captured the attention of both the public and the media in 2010, while news about the nation’s struggling economy consistently attracted high levels of public interest and coverage throughout the year.

Each week, the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press conducts national public opinion surveys to measure which news subjects are receiving the most public attention, while the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism analyzes news coverage. For an analysis of the year’s news coverage, see “The Year in News 2010: Disaster, Economic Anxiety, but Little Interest in War” released January 11, 2011.

The public and news media were largely on the same page during the peak moments of the year’s biggest breaking news stories – the disaster in Haiti, the passage of health care legislation, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the outcome of the midterm elections. (See “Top Stories of 2010: Haiti Earthquake, Gulf Oil Spill” Dec. 21, 2010.)

In most cases, the public and news media’s priorities were in sync. At their peak intensity, each of these stories filled over 40% of the week’s newshole, according to PEJ’s News Coverage Index, and was the most closely followed story that week by more than 40% – and in several instances about 60% – of the public, according the Pew Research Center’s News Interest Index.

But there were moments, and stories, when the public’s interests diverged substantially from the press’ coverage. And those discrepancies, moreover, tended to fit a broader pattern.

In general, the public tended to maintain its interest in major breaking news stories considerably longer than the press did. And the press tended to maintain substantially more interest in Washington Beltway controversies than did its audience.

Most notably, in the weeks following three of these major news events – the Haiti disaster, the passage of health care legislation, and the capping of the gulf oil spill – public interest remained high long after the news media’s focus had turned elsewhere. And while public interest in the 2010 midterm elections was on par with press coverage in the final stages of the campaign season, coverage far exceeded public interest earlier in the campaign cycle.

Over the course of 2010, seven of nine cases in which coverage far exceeded public interest involved stories that had far greater resonance inside the Beltway than outside. These included the firing of General Stanley McChrystal, the release by WikiLeaks of classified State Department documents, Scott Brown’s winning the Massachusetts Senate seat in a special election, and the firing of Shirley Sherrod, a former U.S. agriculture department employee. Notably, several of these stories involved the media itself. These included: McChrystal and his staff’s being quoted criticizing the administration in Rolling Stone magazine, WikiLeaks raising questions about press responsibilities, and video of Sherrod being shown repeatedly out of its full context after being picked up from a conservative website.

Press, Public Both Kept Watch on Economy

One story where the public and the media were often in sync was the economy. Coverage of economic news was consistently high from week to week and cumulatively represented the single largest story over the course of 2010. Public interest was also notably consistent. In every week public interest in economic news was measured, at least 30% of Americans said they were following reports about the condition of the economy very closely, and, aside from periods of peak interest in Haiti, the health care debate and the Gulf oil spill, at least 10% said the economy was the story they were following more closely than any other. Economic news received the most or second most public attention in 32 of the 45 weeks in which public attention to the topic was tracked.

Public’s Interest Outlasts Press’ on 2010’s Big Events

While the economy topped the news over the course of the whole year, 2010 was marked by a series of other major stories that received overwhelming levels of news coverage and public interest as well. The year began with a devastating earthquake in Haiti, followed by end game in the fight over sweeping health care legislation, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Republicans’ victories in the midterm elections.

At their peak, each of these stories dominated press coverage – accounting for more than 40% of the newshole in a single week. And at these moments, public interest was commensurately high. Fully 66% of Americans said they were following the debate over health care more closely than any other news the week of March 22-28, and 63% were focused on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico the week of June 14-20. Immediately following the earthquake in Haiti, 57% of Americans followed news about the aftermath more closely than any other story, and in the week following the 2010 midterms, 43% of Americans said that was their top news interest.
While press and public interests coincided at these peak moments, the news media and public did not concur continuously about the importance of these news stories. Most importantly, the public stayed focused on three of these stories – the disaster in Haiti, health care reform and the gulf oil spill – long after media attention had shifted to other emerging stories.

Just three weeks after the most intense focus on the Haiti earthquake, coverage of the aftermath comprised just 8% of the newshole, replaced by press coverage of the economy and possible problems with Toyota vehicles. Yet the public continued to report more interest in news about the earthquake’s aftermath than either of these other topics – 38% said they were following news about Haiti more closely than anything else.

Similarly, less than a month after the July 15th capping of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, 44% of Americans continued to say they were following news about the spill and its aftermath more closely than any other topic. Yet just 3% of news coverage focused on the spill’s aftermath, as the press focus had turned toward the upcoming midterm elections.

And within three weeks of President Obama signing major new health care legislation, the issue filled just 3% of news coverage; there was more coverage of a major mining accident in West Virginia, Obama’s push to place greater controls on the world’s nuclear weapons and Tiger Woods’ return to the PGA. Yet 33% of Americans said they were most interested in news about the new health care law, far more than any of these other stories.

Political Incidents Garner More Coverage than Interest

Other than stories that affect them personally – such as the debates over health care legislation and tax cuts – Americans often show less interest in political or Washington stories than does the media. That was the case in several instances in 2010, including the forced resignations of Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Shirley Sherrod. The week of June 21, for example, the media devoted 21% of coverage to the termination of McChrystal, then commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Yet fewer than one-in-ten
Americans (7%) said they followed the news about McChrystal most closely that week. Instead, 53% of Americans were still focused mostly on developments in the Gulf of Mexico.

The week of July 19, the media jumped on a story about the USDA firing an African American official for allegedly making racist comments in a speech. The department quickly changed course, offering Shirley Sherrod her job back, when it became clear her comments had been taken out of context. The story accounted for 14% of the newshole (33% on cable news channels), but just 8% of the public said this was the news they were following most closely. That week, half the public (51%) said they were following news about the Gulf oil spill most closely.

Similarly, the political drama of the 2010 midterm elections often drew far more press than public attention. Though the public eventually took a strong interest in the Nov. 2 midterm elections in late October, there were instances earlier in 2010 in which coverage of the primaries significantly outweighed interest. During the week starting Sept. 13, the media devoted 30% of the newshole to election news (42% for cable news channels) – including Christine O’Donnell’s surprise win in the Delaware Republican Senate primary. That week, 11% of the public said they followed election news most closely, while more than twice as many (26%) rated news about the economy as most important to them.

This gap between public interest and press coverage continued through September and October, as the election consumed over a quarter of the newshole, but was a second, or even third-tier story in terms of public interest. The elections did not become the top story for the public until the final week before Election Day, and remained the top story for the two weeks following.

Modest Coverage, Interest in Ongoing Wars

The ongoing U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq received modest press coverage and public attention over the course of 2010. Aside from spikes in press coverage related to Afghanistan surrounding General McChrystal’s resignation in June and the WikiLeaks release of secret military documents in August, events in Afghanistan and Afghanistan policy received modest press coverage in 2010 – 4% of the news measured by the Project for Excellence in Journalism. Across 18 weeks in which public interest on the topic was measured, roughly a quarter said they were following Afghanistan-related news “very closely”. But Afghanistan was the top news story for fewer than one-in-ten Americans in virtually all of those weeks.

Similarly, over the entire course of 2010 1% of news coverage was devoted to Iraq events and policy debates, and in no week did Iraq consume more than 10% of the newshole. Public interest in Iraq news was also modest – in the ten weeks in which public interest in Iraq-related news was tested, roughly a quarter of Americans said they were following “very closely”, but about one-in-ten rated it as the top story they followed most closely. The exception to this came in early September, when 17% said they were following news about the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq more closely than any other story.

Matches and Mismatches at a Glance

The graphic below plots out the interest and coverage levels for many top weekly stories of the year. For long-running stories, such as the economy or the Gulf oil spill, the numbers have been averaged and are represented by larger square dots. The bold diagonal line represents the typical relationship between coverage and interest across the entire year’s worth of weekly measurements (as defined by a simple regression analysis).
Data points above the diagonal line represent stories in which public interest was high relative to the amount of press coverage. Those points below the line show stories in which press coverage was high relative to the amount of public interest. In both directions, the farther a story is from the line, the greater the gap between interest and coverage.

About the News Interest Index

The News Interest Index is a weekly survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press aimed at gauging the public’s interest in and reaction to major news events. This project has been undertaken in conjunction with the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s News Coverage Index, an ongoing content analysis of the news. The News Coverage Index catalogues the news from top news organizations across five major sectors of the media: newspapers, network television, cable television, radio and the internet. Each week (from Monday through Sunday) PEJ compiles this data to identify the top stories for the week. (For more information about the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s News Coverage Index, go to www.journalism.org.) The News Interest Index survey collects data from Thursday through Sunday to gauge public interest in the most covered stories of the week.

Results for the weekly surveys are based on landline telephone and cell phone interviews conducted under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International among a national sample of approximately 1,000 adults living in the continental United States, 18 years of age or older. Both the landline and cell phone samples were provided by Survey Sampling International. Interviews were conducted in English.

The combined landline and cell phone sample are weighted using an iterative technique that matches gender, age, education, race, Hispanic origin, region, and population density to parameters from the March 2009 Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. The sample is also weighted to match current patterns of telephone status based on extrapolations from the 2009 National Health Interview Survey. The weighting procedure also accounts for the fact that respondents with both landline and cell phones have a greater probability of being included in the combined sample and adjusts for household size within the landline sample. Sampling errors and statistical tests of significance take into account the effect of weighting.

In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

The 9/11 terrorist attacks drew more public interest than any other story in the past decade. In October 2001, a month after the attacks, 78% said they were following news about the story very closely, up slightly from the week after the attacks (74%).

The devastating hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast in 2005 – first Katrina and then Rita – also captured the attention of an overwhelming numbers Americans. In October of that year, a month after Katrina struck New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, 74% said they were following news about the storms very closely (70% were following very closely the week after Katrina hit).

The 2005 hurricanes sent the price of gas soaring, a development that also drew broad public attention. In September 2005, 70% said they were following news about high gas prices very closely. In general, the public is highly attentive to fluctuations in gas prices. Nearly as many said they were closely following rising gas prices in May 2006 (69%) and June 2008 (66%), and when prices fell in October 2008, 53% followed very closely.

Aside from Hurricane Katrina, several other natural disasters over the past ten years riveted the American public’s attention. In particular, roughly six-in-ten very closely followed both the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the 2004 tsunami that struck coastal areas surrounding the Indian Ocean.

During this decade there were several mass shootings, but the ongoing shooting spree that for weeks terrorized the Washington, D.C.-area attracted the most public interest. In October 2002, 65% said they were following news about the sniper attacks very closely. The sniper shootings were the public’s top story in 2002.

A number of the decade’s top stories occurred during a tumultuous two-month period in the fall of 2008. As the mortgage and financial crisis grew, 70% of Americans said they were following economic conditions very closely in September of 2008, and in October 59% reported very close attention to the stock market declines specifically. Around the same time, 62% said they were following the debate in Washington over plans to use government funds to stabilize the markets very closely. By this measure, public interest in the bank bailout debate was far more intense than the highest levels of interest in the 2009-2010 health care debate (51% followed very closely in the final week before passage) or the 2009 stimulus debate (50% very closely). And to top off a month packed with economic news, 61% of Americans were following the 2008 election very closely at the same time.

Interest in news reports about the situation in Iraq peaked during the early months of the war. In May 2003, during the week in which President Bush delivered his “Mission Accomplished” speech and two weeks after the fall of Baghdad, 63% said they were following news about the situation in Iraq very closely. Just a year later, a darker chapter in the war – the offensive by insurgents in Fallujah and allegations of abuse by U.S. troops at abu Ghraib prison – also drew considerable interest. In May 2004, 54% said they followed news about the situation in Iraq very closely.

Public attention to news about the war in Afghanistan was highest when military action began in late 2001 and early 2002, when 51% were following very closely. By the summer of 2002 interest had fallen off substantially; in July 2002 41% were following events in Afghanistan very closely. In recent years, the highest level of interest in Afghanistan came in late 2009 as Barack Obama announced his plans for winding down the U.S. military effort there. In December of that year, 43% followed his policy announcement very closely.

Of the biggest news stories of 2010, three make the list of the decade’s top stories: the earthquake in Haiti, which 60% followed very closely, is among the top ten most closely followed stories of the decade. Slightly lower, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico this summer was followed very closely by 59% at the peak of public interest. And the final debate over health care reform was followed very closely by 51%, just edging in to the top 25 stories of the decade.

Two major disasters – the earthquake in Haiti and the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico – captured the public’s attention more than any other major stories in 2010, but Americans also kept a consistent eye on the nation’s struggling economy.

In mid-January, 60% of the public said they were following news about the horrific earthquake in Haiti very closely. In mid-July, a comparable 59% said they were following news very closely about the major oil leak in the Gulf that started with a deadly explosion on an oil rig.

Throughout the year, the economy – the top story in both 2009 and 2008 – was never far from the top of the public’s news interest. That is especially true for the second half of the year amid indications the recovery had stalled. In early December, for example, 52% said they were following news about the economy very closely. That was the highest level since mid-summer, though relatively high percentages said they very closely followed news about the economy– or related issues such as an extension of jobless benefits – all year.

According to the weekly News Interest Index survey, the public also closely tracked news about the long-running debate over health care legislation in Washington. Interest peaked at 51% following very closely in mid-March as the House passed the legislation and sent it to President Obama for his signature. And in January, a special election for a Senate seat in Massachusetts attracted unusually high interest because of its implications for the health care bill. More than a third (36%) paid very close attention to Republican Scott Brown’s victory, which dealt a temporary setback to supporters of health care legislation.

The dramatic rescue of the Chilean miners from a collapsed mine in October drew substantial public interest (49% very closely). That rare good news story attracted much more attention than the April mine accident in West Virginia that left 29 dead. A third of the public (33%) followed that story very closely.

Interest in the midterm campaign increased as elections approached. And after the elections in which the GOP won control of the House and made gains in the Senate, nearly half the public (47%) said they very closely followed news about the results of the midterms. That was comparable to interest in the Democrats’ sweeping victory in the midterm four years earlier (46%).

The ruling in a legal challenge to Arizona’s tough immigration law also drew significant interest in mid-summer (40%). And nine years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the public continued to closely track new attempted attacks – as well as the government’s efforts to keep the nation safe (37% in January very closely followed the government response to the 2009 Christmas Day airplane bomb attempt and in May 37% very closely followed the Times Square bomb attempt). On the foreign front, 36% say they very closely followed the removal of American combat troops from Iraq in early September.

Extreme weather conditions also grabbed the public’s attention, with 43% saying they very closely followed news in December about cold winter weather and 39% saying they very closely followed news about the snow storms that hit eastern and southern states in February.

A Year Dominated by Huge, Long-Running Stories

The Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti and its aftermath dominated the public’s news interests through January and the first half of February. The health care debate was the top story even after the legislation was passed by Congress and signed by the president in March. But the economy frequently ranked as the second or third most closely followed story – and more often number one in the year’s final months.

Perceptions of the tone of economic news took a turn for the worse mid-year, as more news stories stressed signs that the recovery had stalled. Most notably, unemployment remained stubbornly high and the housing markets remained weak.

The April 20 explosion of an offshore oil rig near the coast of Louisiana attracted only modest interest from the public. But the explosion caused a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which led the public’s news interests starting in early May and continuing until nearly the end of August.

Throughout the year, other stories jumped to the top of the public’s news interest. The public was riveted by the dramatic rescue of Chilean miners in October. Interest in that story far surpassed not only interest in the economy but also interestin the midterm elections, which were then just two weeks away.

In late August, the public closely tracked the debate over whether a Muslim mosque should be built near the site of the former World Trade Center towers in New York City. That week, 19% said they followed the debate about the proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque most closely, though about as many (16%) cited news about an ongoing egg recall as their top story.

As Nov. 2 approached, the elections more frequently topped the public’s news agenda. And as the year entered its final weeks, the public focused most closely on both the economy and the debate in Washington over whether to extend the Bush-era tax cuts.

The Week’s News

In the News Interest Index survey conducted Dec. 16-19, Americans say the two stories they followed most closely last week were the final approval of major tax legislation in Washington and the cold winter weather that struck many parts of the country.

Late last week, Congress passed and President Obama signed legislation that includes a temporary extension of Bush-era tax cuts, aid to the unemployed and several other tax measures intended to boost the U.S. economy. About two-in-ten (22%) say they followed this news more closely than any other top story; 37% say they followed news about the tax deal very closely. Two-in-ten (20%) say they followed news about cold winter weather most closely, while 43% say they followed this news very closely.

About four-in-ten (39%) say they paid very close attention to news about the economy; 14% say they followed economic news more closely than any other topic.

The media also focused on the economy and the tax legislation last week. The finale of the debate over tax cuts made up 17% of the newshole, according to the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. More general economic news accounted for an additional 9% of coverage. News about harsh winter weather conditions made up 3% of the newshole.

Nearly three-in-ten (28%) say they very closely followed reports about a federal judge in Virginia ruling that parts of the new health care law are unconstitutional, including a provision mandating all Americans carry health insurance. About one-in-ten (9%) say this was the news they followed most closely. Far more Republicans (42%) than Democrats or independents (24% each) followed this story very closely.

The situation in Iraq was followed very closely by 19% of the public and a similar number (17%) say they very closely followed news about the administration’s review of its Afghan war strategy. The situation in Afghanistan and the review of the war’s progress accounted for 5% of the newshole, while Iraq made up 1% of coverage.

These findings are based on the most recent installment of the weekly News Interest Index, an ongoing project of the Pew Research Center for the People & the P
ress. The index, building on the Center’s longstanding research into public attentiveness to major news stories, examines news interest as it relates to the news media’s coverage. The weekly survey is conducted in conjunction with The Project for Excellence in Journalism’s News Coverage Index, which monitors the news reported by major newspaper, television, radio and online news outlets on an ongoing basis. In the most recent week, data relating to news coverage were collected December 13-19, and survey data measuring public interest in the top news stories of the week were collected December 16-19, from a nationally representative sample of 1,034 adults.

About the News Interest Index

The News Interest Index is a weekly survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press aimed at gauging the public’s interest in and reaction to major news events. This project has been undertaken in conjunction with the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s News Coverage Index, an ongoing content analysis of the news. The News Coverage Index catalogues the news from top news organizations across five major sectors of the media: newspapers, network television, cable television, radio and the internet. Each week (from Monday through Sunday) PEJ compiles this data to identify the top stories for the week. (For more information about the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s News Coverage Index, go to www.journalism.org.) The News Interest Index survey collects data from Thursday through Sunday to gauge public interest in the most covered stories of the week.

Results for the weekly surveys are based on telephone interviews conducted under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International among a national sample of approximately 1,000 adults living in the continental United States, 18 years of age or older. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Results for the latest survey, conducted December 16-19, 2010, are based on a national sample of 1,034 adults (703 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 331 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 152 who had no landline telephone). Both the landline and cell phone samples were provided by Survey Sampling International. Interviews were conducted in English.

The combined landline and cell phone sample are weighted using an iterative technique that matches gender, age, education, race, Hispanic origin, region, and population density to parameters from the March 2009 Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. The sample is also weighted to match current patterns of telephone status based on extrapolations from the 2009 National Health Interview Survey. The weighting procedure also accounts for the fact that respondents with both landline and cell phones have a greater probability of being included in the combined sample and adjusts for household size within the landline sample. Sampling errors and statistical tests of significance take into account the effect of weighting. The following table shows the error attributable to sampling that would be expected at the 95% level of confidence for different groups in the survey:

In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

The troubled economy and efforts to revamp the nation’s health care system dominated the public’s news interest in 2009. From the year’s start, Americans kept a close watch on the unfolding economic crisis, as well as Barack Obama’s efforts to grapple with the crisis while trying to make good on campaign promises.

For the third week of January, for example, 57% of Americans said they followed news about the condition of the U.S. economy very closely, the highest percentage following any story that closely all year. That same week, 52% said they followed news about Obama’s inauguration very closely. More than four-in-ten (42%) said the installation of the nation’s first African American president was the story they had followed most closely that week, according to the Pew Research Center’s weekly News Interest Index.

Those two topics – the economy and the new administration – then played a part in many of the top stories of 2009. In the second half of the year, the public’s focus shifted more to the debate over overhauling the nation’s health care system. Interest in health care reform grew in late summer – while Congress was in recess – as many lawmakers faced angry constituents at town hall meetings in their districts. Interest remained high as the debate unfolded in Washington.

Each week, the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) monitors the amount of coverage devoted to major stories by newspapers, television, radio and online news outlets. For 2009, there is a general correspondence between the stories that attracted the most interest on the NII and those that received the most coverage, according to PEJ’s News Coverage Index.

For the public, breaking stories grabbed attention as well, such as the dramatic landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, the death of pop star Michael Jackson and the shootings last month at the Fort Hood army base. Americans also closely followed news about the spread of the swine flu and the flu vaccine. This proved to be one of several story lines this year for which public interest at times exceeded coverage, especially during the flu’s fall outbreak.

More Coverage than Interest

This year, the media’s top stories generally reflected the public’s top interests: the economic crisis, the new administration and the health care debate were the most covered news stories. But there were number of occasions when news coverage exceeded the public’s interest and vice versa.

For example, the public expressed modest interest in several heavily covered stories about events in Washington and politics. Stories about the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy accounted for more than a quarter (27%) of the newshole the week of Aug. 24, making it the most heavily reported story of the week. But that week, the health care debate dominated public interest, although it accounted for just 11% of the newshole: 30% said health care was the story they followed most closely that week, compared with 17% who said the same about news about Kennedy’s death.

Sonia Sotomayor’s historic nomination to the Supreme Court was another story that generated more coverage than interest. Stories about the first Latina nominated to the high court took up about a quarter (24%) of the newshole the week of May 25, making it the most reported story of that week. At that point, the story ranked third in public interest (15% most closely), behind the economy (20%) and news that GM planned to file for bankruptcy (18%).

In mid-July, stories about Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings made up 22% of coverage, again making it the top story of the week. But Americans were more focused on the economy (21%), health care reform (21%) and the aftermath of Michael Jackson’s death (17%); 14% said they followed the hearings more closely than any other story.

Sen. Arlen Specter’s switch to the Democratic Party and the release of Sarah Palin’s book, “Going Rogue,” also provide examples of coverage for national political stories that exceeded public interest. Specter’s switch, a critical story because it gave Democrats a more effective Senate majority, accounted for 9% of coverage the week of April 27; 3% of the public said this was the story they followed most closely.

Stories about Palin’s book took up 8% of the newshole the week of Nov. 16, while 2% said this was the story they followed most closely that week. Just 10% said they followed news about Palin’s book very closely.

More Interest than Coverage

The public took an early interest in the health care debate in March, when Obama talked about initial plans for overhauling the system, and remained highly interested until year’s end. About a quarter (26%) said health care was the story they followed most closely the week of March 2. News about health care, though, made up just 4% of the newshole. At that point, the economic crisis and stock market troubles dominated news coverage (43% of coverage).

Public interest and media coverage of the health care debate spiked in the summer, as lawmakers struggled to come to terms on legislation before their recess and then faced angry constituents during their break. Interest generally remained strong in the fall, even in weeks where there was little new on the story. In the Dec. 4-7 news interest survey, for example, 29% said they were following the health care debate more closely than any other story. That made health care the most closely followed story of that week. The coverage, as measured by PEJ, amounted to 5% of the newshole.

Early this year, the public showed strong interest in the stimulus legislation pushed by Obama to help jump start the troubled economy. In early February, the media and the public were largely in sync. By the week of Feb. 16, Congress had cleared a measure and Obama had signed it into law. That week, the media divided coverage among several major economic stories. Reports on the stimulus took up 9% of the newshole, compared to 28% the previous week. But the public remained keenly interested: 35% said this was the story they followed most closely. No other story that week came close.

The safe landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River attracted significant public interest in mid-January, a rare story of a plane crash with a happy ending. More than four-in-ten (44%) said they followed the story very closely, while 25% said it was the story they followed most closely that week. But the river landing and rescue occurred on a Thursday, well into PEJ’s weekly tally of news coverage, and accounted for only 12% of the total newshole measured for the week. The story did account for 29% of coverage for the remainder of the week, according to PEJ, putting coverage more in line with interest immediately after the incident.

In mid-April, the public also took a strong interest in news about the modern-day pirates who were capturing ships off the coast of Somalia and holding them hostage. With 34% saying they were following this story more closely than any other, the pirates topped the News Interest Index the week of April 13. The story did get significant media attention (16% of coverage), but the economy drew slightly more news coverage that week (18%).

Swine Flu Disparity in Fall

Americans followed news about the spread of the swine flu and the availability of a vaccine closely during both the spring and fall outbreaks. The initial reports on the flu outbreak, during the week of April 20, drew only 2% of all news coverage, according to PEJ. But it was the public’s top story that week, with 21% citing the swine flu as the story they followed most closely.

The next week, the media and public were more in sync: during the week of April 27, news about the swine flu was both the top story in terms of news coverage (31% of the newshole) and news interest (39% most closely). Public interest in news about the swine flu remained high in May, though the amount of coverage leveled off.

The weekly News Interest Index also found that for many Americans the swine flu was a local news story. The May 6 News Interest survey asked people where they turned for news on the flu: 69% said they had learned something about the flu from local television, while 63% said cable TV news. Notably, the internet was viewed as most useful in learning about the swine flu; 25% named the internet compared with 19% who said cable news and 17% local news.

The disparity in news coverage versus interest proved larger in the fall with the second outbreak. This time, public interest ramped up quickly with swine flu among the top one or two most closely followed stories throughout most of October. But national media coverage proved less intense. The week of Oct. 19, for example, 32% of the public said they were following swine flu developments more closely than any other story, making it the most closely followed story of the week. News coverage of the swine flu accounted for just 5% of the newshole, according to PEJ.

Matches and Mismatches at a Glance

The graphic below plots out the interest and coverage levels for all of the top weekly stories of the year. For long-running stories, such as the economy or health care, the numbers have been averaged and are represented by larger square dots. The bold diagonal line represents the typical relationship between coverage and interest across the entire year’s worth of weekly measurements (as defined by a simple regression analysis).

Data points above the diagonal line represent stories in which public interest was high relative to the amount of press coverage. Those points below the line show stories in which press coverage was high relative to the amount of public interest. In both directions, the farther a story is from the line, the greater the gap between interest and coverage.

2009 in Review

A look at the two most closely followed stories each week shows how the economy and the health care debate consistently dominated the public’s news interests. Interest in the economy and related stories, including the economic stimulus bill and unemployment, peaked early in the year. The economy continued to be the public’s second most closely followed story throughout much of the second half of the year.

The debate over reforming the nation’s health care system heated up in late July and was the public’s most closely followed story nearly every week for the remainder of the year.

In addition to the economy and health care reform, other stories broke through and captured the public’s attention at different points throughout the year. In mid-January, the safe landing of the US Airways jet in the Hudson River was the most closely followed story by the public. A week later, Barack Obama’s inauguration was the most closely followed story.

In mid-April, stories about pirates attacking ships off the coast of Somalia captured the public’s interest. And the death of Michael Jackson and the ensuing investigation made this the top story for three weeks from the end of June through mid-July.

The public closely tracked the outbreak of swine flu during the first wave in late April and May and then again during the second outbreak this fall. The story was either the top or second most closely followed story for four straight weeks in October. In November, the shootings at Fort Hood captured the public’s attention and was one of the most closely followed stories for two consecutive weeks.

Interest in news about the war in Afghanistan grew late in the year as the Obama administration deliberated over a new strategy. The public’s attention peaked in early December shortly after Obama announced the troop increase. This was the only week this year that Afghanistan was one of the top two most closely followed stories.

Tracking Major Stories over Time

The graphs below track interest and coverage over the “life span” of several of the year’s major stories: the economic stimulus bill, and the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court and Michael Jackson’s death. The next set of graphs compares interest and coverage for news about the economy, the debate over health care reform, the situation in Afghanistan and the swine flu when they were asked over the course of the year.

About the News Interest Index

The News Interest Index is a weekly survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press aimed at gauging the public’s interest in and reaction to major news events.

This project has been undertaken in conjunction with the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s News Coverage Index, an ongoing content analysis of the news. The News Coverage Index catalogues the news from top news organizations across five major sectors of the media: newspapers, network television, cable television, radio and the internet. Each week (from Monday through Sunday) PEJ compiles this data to identify the top stories for the week. The News Interest Index survey collects data from Friday through Monday to gauge public interest in the most covered stories of the week.

Results for the weekly surveys are based on landline telephone interviews among a nationwide sample of approximately 1,000 adults, 18 years of age or older, conducted under the direction of ORC (Opinion Research Corporation). For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls, and that results based on subgroups will have larger margins of error.

For more information about the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s News Coverage Index, go to www.journalism.org.

A new study suggests that the way the media covers international news may be doing little to change the American public’s indifference to concerns about world events and foreign policy. A four-month analysis of over 7,000 international news stories now finds that newspapers and network television focus most often on world news that have a distinct American orientation, while local television (from which one-fourth of Americans get most of their news) may be all but ignoring the world. The study also concluded that the U.S. media carry few international articles that would broaden and educate Americans about the world beyond those hot spots where “breaking” news, usually about conflict, is occurring.

This joint project of the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Columbia Journalism Review tracked the volume and tone of press coverage of the health care debate from September of 1993 through November of 1994.

This final report summarizes the broadest findings of the study, and was published as a supplement to the March/April 1995 issue of Columbia Journalism Review. More detailed analyses of the content analysis data are available by contacting the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.