Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
Public Now More Focused on Egypt, but Coverage Far Surpasses Interest
The public's interest in news about the massive anti-government protests in Egypt surged last week, but did not keep pace with the growth in media coverage.
About a third (32%) of the public says they followed news about the protests in Egypt very closely last week. That's nearly double the 17% that said this one week earlier.
Three-in-ten Americans (30%) say they followed news about the protests more closely than any other story, according to the latest News Interest Index survey conducted Feb. 3-6 among 1,001 adults. The previous week, just 11% said the protests were their top story.
But the many elements of the Egypt story accounted for 56% of media coverage last week, according to a separate analysis by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ). That is among the highest levels of coverage for any story since PEJ started its weekly analysis four years ago -- and the highest for a foreign news story. One week earlier, the protests accounted for 20% of coverage. (For more on the media coveage of the protests in Egypt, see "Events in Egypt Trigger Record Coverage.")
Despite increased public interest in the protests, about as many Americans (26%) say the story they followed most closely last week was the powerful winter storm system that hit the Midwest and the Northeast. That story accounted for just 8% of all news coverage, according to PEJ.
Attention to Egypt Lags Behind Haiti Quake and Chilean Miners
Interest in the Egyptian protests is relatively high for a foreign news story that does not directly involve the United States. But there was greater public interest in two recent overseas disasters, which were covered less than the Egyptian protests.
In January 2010, close to six-in-ten (57%) said the earthquake that devastated Haiti was the story they followed most closely that week. Six-in-ten (60%) said they followed this news very closely. News about Haiti that week accounted for 41% of the newshole that week.
Last October, 40% said the story they followed most closely was the rescue of a group of Chilean miners who had been trapped underground for months. Nearly half (49%) said they followed this news very closely. The story accounted for 21% of coverage for the week.
In April 2009, the public took a strong interest in news about pirates commandeering ships off the coast of Somalia. About a third (34%) said this was the story they followed most closely that week; 41% said they were following this news very closely. News about the pirates made up 16% of the newshole.
Many Say Events at Home Matter More
Many Americans say the issues surrounding the Egyptian protests are difficult to fully comprehend and, at a time of continuing economic trouble at home, most say they are more concerned with what is going on in the United States. Close to three-quarters (73%) say that while this story is important, "there are issues in the United States that concern me more."
About half (52%) say they feel they lack the background information to really know what is going on in the Egyptian crisis.
Few say they find it hard to identify with the people who are protesting in Egypt (26%); 67% say that is not the case. And most disagree with the notion that the news is changing so quickly they cannot keep up (64%). About a third (34%) say they do feel that way.
Few say they are keeping constant tabs on the evolving story. Just under three-in-ten (28%) say they find themselves checking in on the events in Egypt several times a day; 72% say that is not the case. And just 11% say they have gotten updates about events in Egypt on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter; 89% say they have not.
Those following news about the protests very closely offer only slightly different answers from those following less closely. Fully 70% of those following very closely say that while
this is important news, there are issues at home that concern them more. Three quarters of those following less closely agree (75%).
Those not paying close attention to Egypt news are more likely to say they do not have the background information to know what is really going on. Few Americans, irrespective of their level of interest, say they find it hard to identify with the protesters.
Not surprisingly, those following very closely are much more likely to say they have been checking in on events on Egypt several times a day (58% vs. 14%). And only small percentages in each group say they have gotten updates on the situation through social media such as Facebook or Twitter.
Public Still Hearing Mixed News on Economy
A majority of the public continues to say they are hearing a mix of good and bad news about the economy. At the same time, more than three-quarters (77%) say they are hearing mostly bad news about gas prices.
About two-thirds (64%) say they are hearing a mix of good and bad news about the economy, down slightly from the 68% that said this in early January. About three-in-ten (29%) report hearing mostly bad news. Just 6% say they are hearing mostly good news about economic conditions.
These numbers have changed only slightly since January, when perceptions of the economic news mix proved much more positive than one month earlier. In January, 24% said economic news was mostly bad, a drop of 15 points from 39% in December.
Among partisans, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to report hearing mostly bad news about the economy (32% vs. 23%, respectively), but the gap has changed little since it narrowed in January. Majorities of Republicans (62%), Democrats (69%) and independents (67%) report hearing a mix of good and bad news about the economy.
Mostly Bad News About Gas Prices
Looking at various sectors of the economy, more than three quarters of Americans (77%) say they are hearing mostly bad news about gas prices, while about half say they are hearing mostly bad news about the job situation (52%), housing values (51%) and food and consumer prices (49%).
About two-in-ten (18%) say they are hearing a mix of good and bad news about gas prices while just 2% say they are hearing mostly good news.
The percentage saying they are hearing mostly bad news about jobs and housing has dropped since December. In late 2010, 66% said that job news was mostly bad and 62% said they were hearing mostly bad news about real estate values.
Impressions of news about the financial markets have improved slightly since December. Currently, 46% say they are hearing a mix of good and bad news, 31% say they are hearing mostly bad news and 17% say they are hearing mostly good news. In December, 44% said they were hearing mixed news, 38% said they were hearing mostly bad news and 13% said they were hearing mostly good news.
By contrast, more Americans report hearing bad news about consumer prices now than in December (49% now, 41% then). That is the highest level saying that since the question was first asked in June 2009. The percentage hearing mostly good news about prices dropped from 16% in December to 7% this month.
The Week's News
Fully 45% say they very closely followed news about the massive storm system that swept across much of the country last week. This was the top story for 26% and accounted for 8% of the news coverage measured by PEJ. Not surprisingly, interest in the wild winter weather was greatest in the Northeast (56% very closely) and the Midwest (54%), the regions hardest hit. Those in western states expressed the least interest (28% very closely)
While the protests in Egypt and winter storms were the stories the public says they followed most closely, many also continued to keep a close watch on economic news. About a third (35%) say they followed economic news very closely. Only about one-in-ten (9%) say they followed news about the economy more closely than any other maj0r story last week. News about the economy accounted for 5% of the newshole.
A quarter (25%) say they followed news about a federal judge's ruling that part of the nation's new health care law is unconstitutional; 9% say this is the news they followed most closely. Republicans (33%) are more likely to say they followed this news very closely than Democrats (23%) or independents (21%). The continuing debate over the health care law enacted last year accounted for 7% of coverage last week. More than half of that -- 4% of the total -- focused on the court ruling.
About a quarter (24%) say they followed news about the Super Bowl very closely. This was the top news for 9%. In 2010, 27% said they followed news about the National Football League championship game very closely. This year, about three-in-ten men (29%) say they followed news about the Super Bowl very closely; 18% of women say the same.
And as Republican candidates start talking about possible challenges to Barack Obama next year, 15% say they followed news about the 2012 presidential elections very closely; 3% say this was the news they followed most closely. News about the next campaign made up less than 1% of coverage.
Republicans and Democrats are about equally likely to say they followed this news very closely (21% of Republicans, 16% of Democrats). Just more than one-in-ten independents (12%) says this.
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 Jan. 31-Feb. 6, and survey data measuring public interest in the top news stories of the week were collected February 3-6, from a nationally representative sample of 1,001 adults.
View the topline and survey methodology at people-press.org.