2009-04-07-皮尤-Obama_s_Trip_Closely_Followed_8页_50kb

The April 8, 2009, Pew Research Center News Interest Index survey found that President Obama's first European trip, including stops in Turkey and Iraq, was highly tracked by Americans. About 25% followed it very closely, surpassing interest in other major news stories last week, such as rising unemployment (17%) and auto industry financial problems (13%). The media covered the trip extensively, accounting for 21% of news content, compared to 19% for domestic economic issues.

This trip stood out compared to historical events like George W. Bush's G-8 Summit in 2001, where only 6% of respondents followed it very closely. Democrats were more likely than Republicans to focus on the trip (30% vs. 14%), highlighting partisan differences in news interest.

Other top stories included the Binghamton, New York shooting (26% following very closely), North Korea's missile tests (23%), and economic concerns. Women showed higher interest in foreign events, such as the Obama-Bush meeting with Queen Elizabeth, which was tracked by 43% of the public, whereas men were more engaged with domestic sports like the NCAA basketball tournament.

A separate content analysis confirmed the trip's dominance in media coverage. Additionally, the public had high awareness of other topics, such as the largest federal tobacco tax increase (38-42% heard a lot about) and the recall of pistachio nuts due to health concerns, with women showing stronger interest in health and foreign news.

The survey, based on telephone interviews with 1,007 adults in the US, underscores broad public engagement with both international diplomacy and domestic crises, serving as an ongoing gauge of media influence on public attention.