The housing crisis, a plunging stock market, mounting job losses, no matter how bad the news may be most Americans (85%) feel better knowing what is going on with the economy. Only 14% of the public gets no comfort from hearing news about money matters. Many Americans also say they need to know economic news because it impacts their personal financial decisions. Still, for 44%, the constant crush of failing banks and the like leads them to look for lighter news. Read More

Russell Heimlich  is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.