Report Summary

In a month in which no single news story dominated public attention, Americans registered a strong protest about the amount of news coverage devoted to the marital breakup of Donald and Ivana Trump. A record 55% said there was too much news about the Trumps. This is by far the largest “over covered” rating recorded by the Times Mirror News Interest Index. In contrast, about one in ten Americans (12%) say they have been following this story very closely and another 25% say they followed the story fairly closely. Public attention to the marital problems of the Trumps, mirrors the level of public interest found in another widely aired marital breakup that of former Trump associate, Mike Tyson. When he and Robin Givens split up, to much fanfare in 1988, 14% followed the news very closely and 22% fairly closely.