2012-05-08-皮尤-Public_Attention_Focused_on_U.S._Economy_13页_400kb

During the week of May 3-6, 2012, public interest in U.S. economic news peaked at 25%, with nearly a quarter (25%) naming the economy as their top story of the week, in line with most weeks over the past year. Economic news garnered the most coverage (9%) among the topics, but media attention did not match public interest. Coverage of Chen Guangcheng, a Chinese dissident, accounted for 12% of the media's coverage but was closely followed by only 15% of the public. Coverage of the presidential campaign (15%) received substantial attention, but only 18% of the public named the 2012 election as their top story. The general tone of economic news was mixed, with 60% of Americans reporting they have been hearing both good and bad news about the economy, while 32% found the news mostly negative, an increase from 24% in early April.

Republicans and Democrats differed significantly in their perception of economic news. Republicans (44%) and independents (36%) were more likely to report hearing mostly bad news, while only 19% of Democrats agreed. Democrats were more evenly split on hearing mostly good news (11%) compared to 3% of Republicans.

Public attention and media coverage for other topics were lower: 16% followed news about European economies very closely, accounting for only 2% of coverage. News about President Obama's trip to Afghanistan, which accounted for 6% of coverage, attracted 19% of the public's very close attention, while 11% followed the death of former NFL player Junior Seau very closely. The controversy over U.S.-Chinese relations involving Chen Guangcheng received 12% of media coverage but only 15% very close attention from the public.