The vast majority of Americans say they followed coverage of the first presidential debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, including 56% who followed the debate live. Most of these real-time viewers watched on television, but 11% of live debate watchers were “dual screeners,” following coverage on a computer or mobile device at the same time as following television coverage. Another 3% say they followed the debate live exclusively online.

The post-debate survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Oct. 4-7 among 1,006 adults, finds younger Americans are especially likely to be “dual-screeners,” following the debate live on both television and a computer or mobile device.

Overall, 32% of those younger than 40 say they followed the debate live online, including 22% who followed it both on television and online, and 10% who followed exclusively on a computer or mobile device. Those 40-to-64 are less likely to have followed live online (11%); just 1% followed only online, while 10% followed online as well as on television. Very few Americans 65 and older followed the debate live online (2%) and none followed live coverage exclusively on a computer or mobile device.

Sharing Debate Reactions Online

While Twitter and Facebook provide an outlet for a range of debate reactions, only a small share of Americans are actively participating in these conversations. Only about a third of those who followed the debate in real time online – representing 5% of the overall debate audience– say they shared their own reactions to the debate online. This includes 8% of live debate watchers younger than 40 and 5% of those 40-to-65. No real-time debate watchers 65 and older reported sharing their reactions online while the debate was going.

Television Top Source for Debate Coverage

Overall, 83% of Americans followed any coverage of the first presidential debate either live or after the debate had already occurred. As with live coverage, television is the dominant source, outpacing other traditional sources, such as newspapers and radio, as well as online sources and social networking sites.

Seven-in-ten Americans (70%) followed debate coverage on television, more than twice the percentage that turned to any other single source. About as many say they followed any debate coverage in newspapers (32%) as online or on a mobile device, such as a cell phone or tablet computer (29%). In addition, 22% say they got debate coverage from social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. About the same percentage (24%) followed debate coverage on the radio.

Digital vs. Traditional Sources of Debate Coverage

About a third (36%) of Americans got any debate coverage online or from social networking sites; far more (78%) say they got coverage from traditional sources, including television, newspapers, or radio. Among those younger than 40, however, the gap is narrower: about half (51%) followed coverage online or on social networking sites, compared with 70% who followed coverage either on television, the radio, or in newspapers. About a third (35%) of those 40-to-64 say they followed debate coverage online or on social networks, compared with 81% who got any coverage through television, newspapers, or the radio. Just 15% of those 65 and older followed the debate digitally; 80% say they turned to traditional sources for debate coverage.

The transformation of the nation’s news landscape has already taken a heavy toll on print news sources, particularly print newspapers. But there are now signs that television news – which so far has held onto its audience through the rise of the internet – also is increasingly vulnerable, as it may be losing its hold on the next generation of news consumers.

Online and digital news consumption, meanwhile, continues to increase, with many more people now getting news on cell phones, tablets or other mobile platforms. And perhaps the most dramatic change in the news environment has been the rise of social networking sites. The percentage of Americans saying they saw news or news headlines on a social networking site yesterday has doubled – from 9% to 19% – since 2010. Among adults younger than age 30, as many saw news on a social networking site the previous day (33%) as saw any television news (34%), with just 13% having read a newspaper either in print or digital form.

These are among the principal findings of the Pew Research Center’s biennial news consumption survey, which has tracked patterns in news use for nearly two decades. The latest survey was conducted May 9-June 3, 2012, among 3,003 adults. For more on the growth of mobile technology, see the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism report: “The Explosion in Mobile Audiences and a Close Look at what it Means for News,” released Oct. 1, 2012.

The proportion of Americans who read news on a printed page – in newspapers and magazines – continues to decline, even as online readership has offset some of these losses. Just 23% say they read a print newspaper yesterday, down only slightly since 2010 (26%), but off by about half since 2000 (47%).

The decline of print on paper spans beyond just newspapers. The proportion reading a magazine in print yesterday has declined over the same period (26% in 2000, 18% today). And as email, text messaging and social networking become dominant forms of communication, the percentage saying they wrote or received a personal letter the previous day also has fallen, from 20% in 2006 to 12% currently. There has been no decrease in recent years in the percentage reading a book on a typical day, but a growing share is now reading through an electronic or audio device.

While print sources have suffered readership losses in recent years, television news viewership has remained more stable. Currently, 55% say they watched the news or a news program on television yesterday, little changed from recent years. But there are signs this may also change. Only about a third (34%) of those younger than 30 say they watched TV news yesterday; in 2006, nearly half of young people (49%) said they watched TV news the prior day. Among older age groups, the percentages saying they watched TV yesterday has not changed significantly over this period.

The changing demographics of the TV news audience are particularly noticeable in the audiences for local and cable news. The overall share of Americans saying they regularly watch local television news has slipped from 54% in 2006 to 48% today – and in that regard it remains one of the news sources with the broadest reach. But the number of 18-to-29 year-olds regularly watching local news has fallen from 42% in 2006 to 28% today.

Over this same period, the regular audience for cable news also has aged. In 2006 and 2008, there were only modest age differences in regular cable news viewership. But in the current survey, more than twice as many of those 65 and older as those younger than 30 say they regularly watch cable news (51% vs. 23%).

CNN’s Losses Continue

Among individual cable news outlets, CNN’s regular audience has declined since 2008. Four years ago, nearly a quarter of Americans (24%) said they regularly watched CNN; that has fallen to 16% in the new survey.

Regular viewership for both Fox News and MSNBC has not changed much in recent years.
About one-in-five Americans (21%) say they regularly watch Fox News, while about half as many (11%) say they regularly watch MSNBC.

Print on Paper: Going, Going …

While Americans enjoy reading as much as ever – 51% say they enjoy reading a lot, little changed over the past two decades – a declining proportion gets news or reads other material on paper on a typical day. And there is new evidence in the survey of a shift in reading to electronic platforms.

In the new survey, only 29% say they read a newspaper yesterday, with just 23% reading a print newspaper. Over the past decade, the percentage reading a print newspaper has fallen by 18 points (from 41% to 23%). Somewhat more (38%) say they regularly read a daily newspaper, although this percentage also has declined, from 54% in 2004. Figures for newspaper readership may not include some people who read newspaper content on sites that aggregate news content, such as Google News or Yahoo News.

Over the past decade, there have been smaller declines in the percentages of Americans reading a magazine or book in print (six points and four points, respectively) than for newspapers.

Just as online newspaper readers make up an ever-greater share of all newspaper readers, so too are more magazine readers and book readers abandoning the printed page for tablets, digital books and other devices. In the current survey, 9% of those who said they read a magazine yesterday, and 20% who read a book, read them in a non-print format.

And substantial percentages of the regular readers of leading newspapers now read them digitally. Currently, 55% of regular New York Times readers say they read the paper mostly on a computer or mobile device, as do 48% of regular USA Today and 44% of Wall Street Journal readers.

By contrast, most readers of such magazines as Harpers, the Atlantic and the New Yorker still read them in print. But even for these magazines, nearly a quarter of regular readers (23%) say they read them mostly on a computer or digital device.

Online News: More Mobile, More Social

While traditional news platforms have lost audience, online news consumption has been undergoing major changes as well. Nearly one-in-five Americans (17%) say they got news yesterday on a mobile device yesterday, with the vast majority of these people (78%) getting news on their cell phone. Among smartphone owners, nearly a third (31%) got news yesterday on a mobile device.

The second major trend in online news consumption is the rise of news on social networks. Today, 19% of the public says they saw news or news headlines on social networking sites yesterday, up from 9% two years ago. And the percentage regularly getting news or news headlines on these sites has nearly tripled, from 7% to 20%.

In part, this is a byproduct of the explosive growth in social networking. In the current survey, 41% of all adults, including 47% of online adults, say they used Facebook or another social networking site yesterday. (For more on social networking, see surveys conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.)

On top of the increase in social network use, the poll finds that news is also more prevalent on social networking sites. The share of users who saw news there yesterday nearly doubled from 19% to 36% between 2010 and 2012.

The increasing use of these sites for news has not just occurred among young people. In fact, those in their 30s are nearly as likely as those 18 to 24 to say they saw news or news headlines on Facebook or another social networking site yesterday (30% vs. 34%). And about a quarter of adults in their 40s (23%) saw news yesterday on social networks, up from just 8% in 2010.

The two trends in online news consumption – growing numbers getting news via mobile devices and the increasing use of social networks – are complementary. Overall, 55% of Americans access the internet on a mobile device, such as a cell phone or tablet; among this group, 30% say they saw news on social networking sites yesterday. That compares with just 9% of Americans who are online but do not access the internet on a mobile device.

Getting News on Twitter

While news gathering is very common among Twitter users, the overall reach is limited because the audience remains relatively small. About one-in-ten Americans (13%) ever use Twitter or read Twitter messages. By comparison, more than half (54%) ever use other social networking sites, such as Facebook, Google Plus or LinkedIn.

As a result, far fewer people get news on Twitter than on other social networking sites. Just 11% ever see news on Twitter, while 3% got news there yesterday. Nearly half of adults (47%) ever get news on Facebook and other social networking sites and 19% got news on one or more of those sites yesterday.

Nonetheless, Twitter users are increasingly getting news on the site and sharing news stories with others. Overall, 83% of Twitter users ever see news on Twitter and 26% saw news there yesterday; both percentages are up considerably from two years ago. And most Twitter users (59%) tweet or retweet news headlines on Twitter. About the same percentage of users of Facebook and other social networks (61%) use those sites for sharing news or news headlines.

Large majorities of Americans are following coverage of the Olympic Games in London. Nearly eight-in-ten (78%) say they have watched or followed Olympic coverage either on television, online or on social networks.

Television remains far-and-away the leading platform for Olympic coverage; 73% say they have watched coverage on television. Still, 17% say they have watched online or digitally and 12% report they have followed Olympic coverage on social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. Most Olympic followers (68%) say they are watching events in the evening after they have already occurred. At the same time, almost a quarter (23%) say they are watching live during the day.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Internet & American Life Project, conducted August 2-5, 2012 among 1,005 adults, finds that NBC’s coverage of the Olympics receives high marks from the public. Overall, 76% of Olympic watchers describe the coverage as excellent (29%) or good (47%); 18% describe it as only fair (13%) or poor (5%).

Although there has been criticism of NBC’s coverage expressed online on social media sites like Twitter, the coverage is rated about equally well by those who are watching online and following on social networks (70% excellent/good) and those watching on television (77%). There is also little difference in the ratings given by those watching events live (85% excellent/good) and those watching in the evening after the events have occurred (75%).

Young people under the age of 30 are much more likely to have followed Olympic coverage on social networking sites than are older Americans. About three-in-ten (31%) of those ages 18-29 have followed coverage on social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter, compared with 11% of those 30-49, 6% of those 50-64, and just 2% of those 65 and older.

Following Olympic coverage online and on social networks appears to be a supplement rather than a replacement for television viewing. Among those following the Olympics online or on social networks, most (79%) say they are also watching Olympic coverage on television.

The poll finds that those following coverage online or on social networks are no more likely to say they are watching events live than those watching Olympic coverage on television.

With a contested primary in only one party this year, fewer Americans are closely following news about the presidential campaign than four years ago. As a consequence, long-term declines in the number of people getting campaign news from such sources as local TV and network news have steepened, and even the number gathering campaign news online, which had nearly tripled between 2000 and 2008, has leveled off in 2012.

The one constant over the course of the past four elections is the reach of cable news. Currently, 36% of Americans say they are regularly learning about the candidates or campaign on cable news networks. That is virtually unchanged from previous campaigns, yet cable news is now the top regular source for campaign news.

The cable networks also hosted most of the candidate debates, which stand out as a particularly interesting aspect of the campaign. Nearly half of Republicans (47%) have watched a GOP debate during this campaign, up from 32% at a comparable point four years ago.

In contrast to cable, the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press’ 2012 campaign news survey, conducted Jan. 4-8 among 1,507 adults nationwide, finds broad declines in the numbers getting campaign news from newspapers, and local and network TV news. Just 20% say they regularly learn something about the presidential campaign or candidates from their local daily newspapers. In 2008, 31% said they got campaign news from their daily newspaper and 40% did so in the 2000 election cycle. There are comparable declines in the share regularly getting campaign information from network evening news programs and local TV news. For all three of these sources, the rate of decline slowed during the dramatic 2008 election cycle, but has again continued on a downward track.

In previous campaigns, declining figures for traditional sources were at least partly offset by increasing numbers turning to the internet. But that is not the case in 2012, as the number regularly getting campaign news online has leveled off. This is largely due to a lack of interest in the early 2012 campaign among younger Americans, who have traditionally been the broadest internet news consumers, and who also are less apt to be Republicans.

Over the month of January, only 20% of those younger than 30 said they were following news about the campaign very closely, down from 31% in January 2008. In fact, on the weekend Newt Gingrich won a dramatic victory in the South Carolina primary, young people expressed as much interest in a battle over online piracy legislation as they did in the campaign. (See “Cruise Ship Accident, Election Top Public’s Interests,” Jan. 24, 2012).

As campaign interest among young people has declined, fewer say they are going online for campaign news. Just 29% of those younger than 30 regularly learn something about the campaign online, down from 42% four years ago. Early in the 2008 campaign, people under age 30 were twice as likely as people 30 and older to get campaign information online. There is far less of an age gap today.

While other sources have advanced and receded, cable news networks have held their own over the past four election cycles. Moreover, cable news reaches a substantial number across age and partisan lines. To be sure, Republicans and Democrats are increasingly turning to different cable networks for their campaign news. When asked where they get most of their campaign news, far more Republicans than Democrats cite Fox News, while Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to cite CNN and MSNBC.

Few Learning from Social Networks

Many of the newest internet tools for getting campaign information, including social networking, are being used by a relatively limited audience. One-in-five Americans (20%) say they regularly or sometimes get campaign information from Facebook and just one-in-twenty (5%) say the same about Twitter. Even among Facebook and Twitter users, most say they hardly ever or never learn about the campaign or candidates through those sources.

About half (52%) of Americans say they at least sometimes learn about the campaign from websites or apps of TV, newspaper, magazine or radio news organizations. Slightly more than a third (36%) regularly or sometimes learn from websites or apps of news sources that are only available online.

When respondents are asked to name the specific internet sources they turn to for campaign news and information, the most frequently cited are CNN (by 24% of those who get campaign news online), Yahoo (22%), Google (13%), Fox News (10%), MSN (9%) and MSNBC (8%). Politically-oriented sites like Huffington Post and the Drudge Report are each mentioned by only 2% of those who get campaign news online.

More See Biased Coverage

The survey finds that the number saying there is a great deal of political bias in the news has risen to a new high, with the most intense criticism coming from Tea Party Republicans. Currently, 37% of Americans say there is a great deal of bias in news coverage and 30% say there is a fair amount of bias. Far fewer see not too much bias (21%) or none at all (10%). The percentage saying there is a great deal of bias has increased six points, from 31% to 37%, since 2008.

About three-quarters (74%) of Republicans who agree with the Tea Party movement say there is a great deal of bias – at least twice the percentage as in any other political group, including non-Tea Party Republicans (33%) and liberal Democrats (36%). Among news audiences, those who cite the Fox News Channel or the radio as their main source of campaign news are the most likely to say there is a great deal of bias in news coverage.

Campaign Outreach

While new technology allows campaigns and groups multiple ways to reach out to voters, campaign commercials have by far the widest reach. Fully 72% of registered voters nationwide report having seen or heard campaign commercials related to the 2012 presidential campaign. That is far more than the percentages saying they have received  email from a campaign or political group (16%), visited a candidate’s website (15%) or followed a candidate’s updates on Twitter or Facebook (6%).

While small, the number of people who track candidates on social networking has grown. At this point in the 2008 campaign, just 3% said they had signed up as a “friend” of a candidate on a social networking site.

One-in-four (25%) say they have already received pre-recorded telephone calls about the campaign, often referred to as “robocalls.” That is comparable to the level early in the 2008 presidential campaign. Only about a third as many (8%) have gotten phone calls from a live person. Telephone outreach has not been limited to Republicans. Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters are just as likely as Republicans and Republican leaners to have received live phone calls (8% each), and only slightly less likely to have received campaign robocalls (23% vs. 28% of Republicans).

Overall, 7% of registered voters say they have contributed money to a campaign, about the level measured early in the 2008 campaign (8% in Nov. 2007). But unlike four years ago, Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to say they have contributed to a candidate – presumably Obama – in the 2012 campaign.

The internet is slowly closing in on television as Americans’ main source of national and international news. Currently, 41% say they get most of their news about national and international news from the internet, which is little changed over the past two years but up 17 points since 2007. Television remains the most widely used source for national and international news – 66% of Americans say it is their main source of news – but that is down from 74% three years ago and 82% as recently as 2002.

The national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Dec. 1-5, 2010 among 1,500 adults reached on cell phones and landlines, finds that more people continue to cite the internet than newspapers as their main source of news, reflecting both the growth of the internet, and the gradual decline in newspaper readership (from 34% in 2007 to 31% now). The proportion citing radio as their main source of national and international news has remained relatively stable in recent years; currently, 16% say it is their main source.

An analysis of how different generations are getting their news suggests that these trends are likely to continue. In 2010, for the first time, the internet has surpassed television as the main source of national and international news for people younger than 30. Since 2007, the number of 18 to 29 year olds citing the internet as their main source has nearly doubled, from 34% to 65%. Over this period, the number of young people citing television as their main news source has dropped from 68% to 52%.

Among those 30 to 49, the internet is on track to equal, or perhaps surpass, television as the main source of national and international news within the next few years. Currently, 48% say the internet is their main source – up 16 points from 2007 – and 63% cite television – down eight points.

The internet also has grown as a news source for people ages 50 to 64; currently 34% say the internet is their main source of national and international news, nearly equal to the number who cite newspapers (38%), though still far below television (71%). There has been relatively little change in the how people age 65 and older get their news. The internet has risen to 14% from 5% in 2007, but is still far behind newspapers (47%) and television (79%) as a main source.

The decline in the share of Americans who cite television as their main source of national and international news crosses all age groups. Over the past three years, the number saying TV is their main source has fallen 16 points among 18-29 year-olds, eight points among those 30 to 49, and six points among those age 50 and older.

TV News Still Dominates Among Less Educated

College graduates are about as likely to get most of their national and international news from the internet (51%) as television (54%). Those with some college are just as likely as college grads to cite the internet as their main source (51%), while 63% cite television. By contrast, just 29% of those with no more than a high school education cite the internet while more than twice as many (75%) cite television.

Similarly, those with household incomes of $75,000 or more are about as likely to get most of their news on the internet (54%) as from television (57%). People with household incomes under $30,000 are far more likely to cite television (72%) than the internet (34%).

There also are different patterns of news consumption across regions of the country. Notably, people living in the West are the most likely to cite the internet as their main source of national and international news (47% vs. 40% in other parts of the country), and the least likely to cite television (55% vs. 68% elsewhere).

Both Cable News and Broadcast News See Declines

Reflecting the slow decline in the proportion of people getting most of their national and international news from television, the numbers specifically citing cable news outlets or broadcast networks as their main news source has fallen. When asked where on television they get most of their news, 36% name a cable network such as CNN, the Fox News Channel or MSNBC; 22% name ABC News, CBS News or NBC News; and 16% say they get most of their national and international news from local news programming.

Compared with five years ago, the share citing a cable network as their main source is down seven points (from 43% to 36%), and the share citing a broadcast network is down eight points (from 30% to 22%). The local news figure has remained relatively constant over this period.

Read the full analysis on Pewresearch.org

In spite of their general criticisms of the media, Americans have good things to say about the major broadcast and cable news networks. The public draws few distinctions among the news divisions of the big three broadcast networks. There is much less consensus about the major cable news networks. Nearly half of the public sees real differences among CNN, the Fox News Channel and MSNBC, but four-in ten say the cable news outlets are all pretty much the same. National Public Radio is less well known to the public, but receives generally positive evaluations from those who can rate it.

When asked to name the one word that best describes their impression of six major news organizations, “good” is the word that comes to mind most often for each one. Beyond that, the big three broadcast networks — ABC, CBS and NBC — are most often described as “OK.” Other top descriptors for the networks include “biased,” “liberal” and “informative.”

CNN is the most recognizable news network among the six tested in the poll. Roughly 80% of respondents were able to come up with a word to describe CNN. After “good,” the most frequently used word was “informative.” The words “liberal,” “news” and “great” also made CNN’s top six list.

The Fox News cable channel is the only outlet for which “conservative” and “Republican” were mentioned. Other descriptions of Fox included “excellent,” “OK,” “biased,” and “like it.”

The top words used to describe NPR included “excellent,” and “informative.” “Liberal” was mentioned about as often in describing NPR as it was for CNN and the major broadcast networks, though “biased” was mentioned less often for NPR.

Cable Audiences Make Deliberate Choices

In general, the public sees few differences among the three broadcast networks. Fully 74% say ABC News, CBS News and NBC News are all pretty much the same. Only 18% say there are real differences between the three. But impressions of the three major cable news networks differ substantially. While 40% of the public says CNN, the Fox News cable channel and MSNBC are pretty much the same, 48% see real differences among the three.

The feeling that the three broadcast networks are all pretty much the same is shared by network and cable news viewers alike. When it comes to evaluations of the cable news networks, however, cable viewers themselves are among the most likely to draw distinctions among the three major outlets. Among regular viewers of CNN, Fox and MSNBC, roughly 60% say that real differences separate the cable news networks. This compares with 48% of the general public and 44% of regular viewers of the big three broadcast networks.

In addition, views of the cable networks differ sharply by education and partisanship. College graduates are much more likely than non-college graduates to see real differences between CNN, Fox and MSNBC. And Republicans are more likely than Democrats to see differences. Among Republicans, 57% say there are real differences among the three major cable news networks; only 33% say the cable networks are all the same. Democrats are evenly split on this issue: 45% say there are real differences, 46% say the cable networks are all the same.

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 Press. 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 agenda. 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.

Iraq and Immigration Top News Interest Index

In the news this week, the public remained focused on the Iraq war while the national news media divided their time fairly evenly among a host of domestic and international issues. Three-in-ten Americans followed events in Iraq very closely last week, and fully a third listed Iraq as the single news story they followed more closely than any other. The media devoted 7% of overall coverage for the week to events on the ground in Iraq.

The most heavily covered news story of the week was the debate in Washington over a new immigration policy. Fully 10% of the newshole was devoted to this story as George Bush and congressional leaders attempted to keep the controversial reform legislation alive. The public paid fairly close attention to the immigration debate: 22% followed the story very closely and 17% said this was the story they followed more closely than any other.

Public interest in the 2008 presidential campaign remained steady last week. Despite the absence of major campaign events or debates, 17% of the public followed campaign news very closely and 10% listed this as their top story. The media devoted 7% of its overall coverage to the campaign.

The violent conflict between rival Palestinian groups was the second most heavily covered news story of the week (9% of the newshole). One-in-five Americans followed this story very closely, and 7% said it was their most closely followed story.

New developments in the U.S. attorney scandal put that story back in the media’s top tier. This was the fifth most heavily covered story of the week (3% of the newshole). The public is paying somewhat less attention to the story now than it had been in March and early April. Democrats continue to follow this story much more closely than do Republicans.

Only a small segment of the public paid close attention to the recent problems aboard the international space station — 7% followed this story very closely and 4% listed it as their top story of the week. Ten years ago when the Russian space station Mir experienced problems, the American public was somewhat more interested.

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 Sunday through Friday) PEJ will compile this data to identify the top stories for the week. The News Interest Index survey will collect 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 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 3.5 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 journalism.org.

In the news last week, the Iraq war continued to dominate both coverage and interest. Fully 30% of the public followed news about the current situation in Iraq very closely and 24% listed this as the single news story they followed more closely than any other. Fully one-quarter of the public paid very close attention to the debate in Washington over U.S. policy in Iraq, and 9% said this was the story they followed most closely last week. Coverage of the policy debate dominated the national news last week with 14% of the overall newshole devoted to this topic. Another 3% of the newshole was focused on events in Iraq.

The deadly Kansas tornadoes and widespread flooding in the Midwest attracted a relatively large news audience: 22% of the public followed these events very closely and 16% listed them as their top story of the week. Overall, 8% of the news coverage for the week was devoted to these two weather-related stories.

The 2008 presidential campaign remains a top tier news story: 18% of the public followed news about the campaign very closely last week and 11% said it was the story they followed most closely. News coverage of the campaign was down considerably from the previous week when it was the most heavily covered story (6% last week vs. 13% for the week of April 30).

Roughly one-in-five Americans paid very close attention to the arrest of six men in New Jersey who were allegedly planning to attack soldiers at Fort Dix Army base, 8% listed this as their top story. While this story received roughly the same amount of coverage from the national news media as the Kansas tornadoes, the tornadoes ranked higher in terms of the week’s most closely followed news stories.

Tony Blair’s announcement that he will step down from his position as British Prime Minister had little impact on the American public: 12% followed this story very closely and 3% said it was their top story of the week.

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 Press. 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 agenda. 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.

Who’s Watching American Idol?

As American Idol Season 6 comes to a close, 22% of the public is paying close attention to what’s happening on the show — 13% are following Idol news very closely and 9% are following fairly closely. In spite of the fact that American Idol has been at the top of the television ratings throughout the season, three-quarters of the public are paying little or no attention to the show (11% say they’re not following Idol news too closely and 66% say they’re not following it at all).

Nearly three-in-ten Americans say Idol comes up in conversations with family, friends and co-workers at least occasionally. Another 31% say the topic hardly ever comes up, and 39% say it never does. Loyal Idol viewers, spend a lot of time talking about the show. Among those who are following American Idol very closely, fully 84% say they frequently or occasionally discuss the show with family, friends and co-workers.

Women are more likely than men to be following American Idol (26% vs. 17%, respectively are following very or fairly closely), and to be chatting about the show with family and friends (33% vs. 25%). Young women are among the most interested in the show, with 30% following it very or fairly closely. In general, young people are somewhat more interested in the show than their older counterparts. However, even among those ages 50-64, 20% are following Idol news very or fairly closely. College graduates are less likely to be following what’s going on with the show than are those who have never attended college. Parents of children under age 18 are more likely to be following Idol than are non-parents —30% vs. 18%, respectively, are following the show very or fairly closely.

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 Sunday through Friday) PEJ will compile this data to identify the top stories for the week. The News Interest Index survey will collect 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 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 3.5 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.

Americans have ambivalent views about the appropriate role for government in curbing sex, violence and indecency in the entertainment media. They have doubts about the effectiveness of government action, and believe that public pressure ­ in the form of complaints and boycotts ­ is a better way of dealing with the problem. They also blame audiences more than the media industry for objectionable material. Significantly, Americans see greater danger in the government’s imposing undue restrictions on the entertainment industry, than in the industry producing harmful content (by 48% vs. 41%).

Nonetheless, there is broad public support for several proposals now being considered for curbing indecent material in the media. Fully 75% favor tighter enforcement of government rules on TV content during hours when children are most likely to be watching. Sizable majorities also back other anti-indecency proposals currently before Congress, including steeper fines (69%) and extending network standards for indecency to cable television (60%).

The latest Pew Research Center nationwide survey, conducted among 1,505 Americans from March 17-21, finds that the tug of war in public opinion about government regulation of entertainment reflects political and religious divides about the issue.

For example, on the fundamental question of whether undue government restrictions ­ or harmful content ­ presents the greater danger, a solid majority of conservative Republicans (57%) cite harmful entertainment. Liberal Democrats, by contrast, overwhelmingly believe excessive government restrictions are the larger concern (by 72%-21%). Similarly, while 51% of white evangelical Protestants say offensive entertainment presents a greater danger than undue government restriction, just 27% of seculars agree.

There also is a significant generation gap, both in attitudes toward government regulation and in opinions about what constitutes offensive content. Americans 50 and older register much higher levels of personal concern than do younger adults about different types of TV material, and are more likely to view harmful content as a bigger problem than intrusive government restrictions. By contrast, those under 30 view excessive government restrictions as a far greater danger than harmful content.

Despite these divisions, however, there are a number of points of broad national agreement on issues relating to entertainment and the government’s role in reducing offensive content:

Most Americans say parents are primarily to blame when children are exposed to explicit sex or graphic violence. Fully 79% say inadequate parental supervision ­ rather than inadequate laws ­ is mostly responsible for children being exposed to that sort of offensive material; there are no significant political or religious differences on this point. And by more than ten-to-one (86%-8%), the public believes that parents, rather than the entertainment industry, bear the most responsibility for keeping children from seeing sex and violence in TV and movies.

There is widely shared concern over what children see and hear from various media, though for the most part these attitudes have remained fairly stable since the late 1990s. Roughly six-in-ten say they are very concerned over what children see or hear on TV (61%), in music lyrics (61%), video games (60%) and movies (56%). An even higher percentage (73%) express a great deal of concern over the internet. Fully 68% believe that children seeing so much sex and violence on TV gives them the wrong idea about what is acceptable in society.

Parents have worries over what their own children are being exposed to in the media, but they give fairly high marks to the tools available to help them make entertainment choices for their families. Roughly six-in-ten parents (62%) say there is enough information available to help them decide whether movies, TV, video games and music lyrics are appropriate. Majorities of parents also say they have at least a fair amount of trust in ratings for TV, movies and video games, as well as advisory labels for music. In addition, roughly half of parents who go online (51%) say they have a filtering system to prevent access to pornography over the web.

Parents also say they are becoming more solicitous in monitoring their children’s TV viewing. About a third (34%) volunteer that they always know what their children are watching on TV, up from 18% in 1997. And 78% say they have specific rules about the type of programs their children can watch.

Pew’s survey on entertainment also highlights the changing nature of the public’s concerns over media content. Americans these days are troubled by much more than sex and violence ­ in fact, sex and violence do not even top the list of people’s personal concerns over TV. Nearly half (46%) say they are personally bothered a lot by TV programs showing depictions of illegal drug use, while 38% voice a high level of concern over reality programs in which real people are tricked or made fun of. And among parents, as many say they worry a great deal over their own children being exposed to illegal drug references as say that about sexual content.

Despite the recent string of controversies over sex and violence in the media, however, the overall image of the entertainment industry has not eroded in recent years. Currently, 60% say they have a favorable opinion of the motion picture and TV entertainment industry, which marks little change from 2001 (58%) or 1999 (60%). A comparable majority (55%) has a positive opinion of the recording and music industry.

But the public continues to have low regard for video games manufacturers. Only about a third (34%) have a favorable view of the makers of video games, about the same as in June 1999. Young people stand out as virtually the only demographic group with a positive view of this industry. A majority of those under age 30 (56%) have a favorable view of video games makers, compared with just 15% of those age 50 and older.

Pew Research Center surveys have shown that as many as 12% of Americans are regular C-SPAN viewers. That figure comes from a January 2004 survey, in which another 31% say they sometimes watch C-SPAN. In that survey, C-SPAN was the only news organization respondents were asked about. When viewership for C-SPAN is measured along with other news outlets, such as major cable news networks, network evening news, and newspapers, fewer Americans report watching C-SPAN. In an April 2002 survey, which used this format, 5% said they regularly watched C-SPAN and 18% said they sometimes watched it. (The broader survey, covering a wide range of news sources, will be updated later this year).

Despite the varying estimates of the overall size of C-SPAN viewership, it is clear that the audience is broad based. The composition of the C-SPAN audience in terms of race, gender and education is similar to that of all adults. As is the case with most news sources, the C-SPAN audience is somewhat older than the general public ­ roughly a quarter of the audience (24%) is age 65 and older, compared with 16% of the public overall. The C-SPAN audience also includes slightly more Democrats than Republicans (37% vs. 28%). The general public is evenly divided politically (31% each).

Most View C-SPAN As Useful

Despite generational differences in viewership, young people express just as favorable opinions of C-SPAN as do older Americans. Fully 39% of Americans under age 50 (and 38% of those under age 30) say it is very useful for the country to have C-SPAN show Congress at work and provide other government-related programming; 32% of those age 50 and older express that view.

Most Americans who watch C-SPAN say they would miss it if it were no longer available. Roughly three-quarters of those who regularly watch the network say they would miss it a lot (38%) or some (36%), and about half of those who sometimes watch also say they would miss the network.

While the core C-SPAN audience is most likely to see the network’s value to the nation, most people who never watch C-SPAN still hold a high opinion of the network. Roughly two-thirds of those who never watch say the network is very (24%) or somewhat (40%) useful for the country. Virtually everyone who regularly watches C-SPAN holds this view, with fully 61% saying the network is very useful.

Relatively few Americans know that C-SPAN is paid for through fees from cable and satellite companies. In fact, nearly as many incorrectly believe that the network is funded by the federal government (10%) as say the network runs independently based on cable and satellite licensing fees (12%).

Regular C-SPAN viewers are somewhat more informed about the network’s funding sources, but still only 21% of regular viewers know how C-SPAN is funded.

About the Survey

Results for the survey are based on telephone interviews conducted under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates among a nationwide sample of 1,503 adults, 18 years of age or older, during the period January 6-11, 2004. Based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 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.