Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Elections: High Coverage, Low Public Interest

Few Have Heard A Lot About Stewart-Colbert Rally

September 29, 2010

While the 2010 midterm congressional elections dominated media coverage last week, the public focused more on news about the nation's struggling economy.

Nearly a quarter (23%) of the public says they followed news about the economy more closely than any other major story. Just 6% say they followed news about this year's congressional elections most closely, according to the latest News Interest Index survey of 1,010 adults conducted Sept. 23-26 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

The midterm election campaign accounted for 25% of news coverage, almost double the 13% given to news about the economy, according to a separate analysis by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ).

More than four-in-ten Americans (43%) say they followed economic news very closely, compared with 25% who tracked campaign news very closely. About as many Democrats (26%) as Republicans (30%) say they are following campaign news very closely; 22% of independents say the same.

Many Aware of Possible GOP Majority; Pledge Less Widely Known

Most Americans say they have heard at least a little about the possibility that Republicans will win a majority of seats in Congress on Nov. 2. About four-in-ten (42%) say they have heard a lot about this, while 35% say they have heard a little.

Slightly fewer people (36%) say they have heard a lot about victories by candidates associated with the Tea Party movement in recent Republican primaries; another 36% say they heard a little about victories by Tea Party-affiliated candidates.

Fewer say they have heard a lot about the House candidates in their districts (24%), while 45% say they have heard a little about this.

Just 18% say they have heard a lot about the legislative blueprint unveiled by House GOP leaders, called "A Pledge to America." Close to four-in-ten (38%) say they heard a little about this, while 42% say they heard nothing at all.

Still fewer (13%) say they have heard a lot about the Washington rallies planned by Comedy Central hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. A third (33%) say they heard a little about the rallies, while just more than half (54%) say they heard nothing at all.

Modest Partisan Differences in Awareness of Campaign Events

Republicans are more likely to say they have heard a lot about the possibility that the GOP could win a majority in Congress (51%) than are Democrats or independents (both 41%). On other questions, though, the differences are slim or not significant.

More than four-in-ten Republicans (43%) say they have heard a lot about the recent Tea Party candidate victories in GOP primaries, not much different from the 34% of both Democrats and independents who say this.

Nearly a quarter of Republicans (23%) say they heard a lot about the GOP "Pledge to America" announced late last week, while 20% of independents and 15% of Democrats say they heard a lot about this.

Three-in-ten Republicans (30%) say they have heard a lot about the candidates for the U.S. House in their districts, about the same as the 27% of Democrats who say this.

Few in any group say they have heard a lot about the Washington rallies planned by Comedy Central stars Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert; 16% of Democrats, 12% of independents and 11% of Republicans say they have heard a lot about this.

In general, older Americans are much more likely to have heard a lot about these developments than those younger than age 30 -- except for the rally by Stewart and Colbert. For example, nearly six-in-ten (59%) of those ages 65 and older say they have heard a lot about the possibility that the GOP could win a majority in Congress, while 18% of those ages 18-29 say they have heard a lot about this. On the other hand, 14% of those 18 to 29 have heard a lot about the Oct. 30 rallies, about the same as the older age groups.

The Week's News

While news about the economy topped the News Interest Index (23% most closely), nearly as many (18%) say they tracked news about portions of the federal health care law taking effect more closely than other major news. Almost four-in-ten (37%) say they followed this news very closely. Reporting about the new law made up 3% of the newshole as measured by PEJ.

Republicans and Democrats are equally likely to say they followed news about the new health care law very closely (36% each), but women are more likely than men to say they followed this news very closely (40% vs. 33%).

More than one-in-ten (13%) say they followed news about the situation in Afghanistan most closely, while 29% say they followed news about the situation there very closely. News about Afghanistan made up 3% of coverage. News about Bob Woodward's new book, which delves into how the Obama administration arrived at its Afghanistan strategy, accounted for a separate 3%, according to PEJ.

Fewer than one-in-ten (6%) say they followed the debate in Congress over the Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy concerning gays in the military most closely, while 24% say they followed this debate very closely. News about the policy made up 4% of coverage.

Another 5% say they followed news about drug violence in Mexico most closely, while 20% say they followed this news very closely. News about the situation in Mexico 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 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 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 September 20-26, and survey data measuring public interest in the top news stories of the week were collected September 23-26, from a nationally representative sample of 1,010 adults.

View the topline and survey methodology at people-press.org.