News Interest Index

News Interest Index

Just over half of the public (53%) say they followed news about Hurricane Sandy and the storm’s impact very closely last week, outpacing interest in the 2012 presidential election (47% very closely) and news about the U.S. economy (38% very closely).

Just as the presidential race is deadlocked, the candidates are running about even when it comes to the ground game. Voters report being contacted at about the same rates by each campaign. And neither candidate has a clear advantage among early voters.

Heading into Wednesday's first presidential debate, voters expect that Barack Obama will do a better job than Mitt Romney. About half (51%) say Obama will do the better job in the debate, while 29% say Romney will. Most voters plan to watch

In the wake of the party conventions, Democrats express increasingly positive views of the presidential campaign.

The public paid far less attention to this year's Republican convention in Tampa. Among those who watched at least a little of the event last week, 20% said Clint Eastwood's speech was the highlight of the event and 17% said the same for Mitt Romney's speech.

In the final two weeks of July, Americans kept a close watch on news about a deadly shooting rampage at a Colorado movie theater, but they also closely tracked news about two long-running stories – the condition of the nation’s economy and the 2012 presidential campaign.

The American public is divided over the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the 2010 health care law - 40% disapprove of the decision, while 36% approve. Nearly a quarter (24%) offer no opinion. And despite extensive public interest in the ruling, just 55% know that the Supreme Court upheld most of the law's provisions.

President Obama’s expression of support for same-sex marriage proved to be the public’s top news story last week.

Americans followed news about the nation’s economy more closely than any other news last week amid new signs the pace of the recovery has slowed.

Developments in the Trayvon Martin murder case and news about the candidates for president topped the public’s news interest last week, with about as many saying they followed news about the economy most closely.