News Interest Index: Economy, Volcanic Ash Top News Interest

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News Interest Index: Economy, Volcanic Ash Top News Interest

The public and the media focused on economic issues last week, with 24% of Americans saying they followed news about the economy more closely than other major stories.

Another 9% say they followed news about proposals for stricter regulation of banks and financial institutions most closely.

Americans also continued to closely track news about travel disruptions in Europe caused by ash from the erupting volcano in Iceland (20% most closely), according to the latest weekly News Interest Index survey conducted April 23-26 among 1,008 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

In terms of coverage, news about the economy in general made up 13% of the newshole last week, while debate in Washington about a financial regulatory overhaul made up 14%. Together, they accounted for 27% of the coverage examined by the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ), a separate project of the Pew Research Center. News about the volcano made up 11% of coverage.

Read the full report Economy, Volcanic Ash Top News Interest on the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press' Web site.

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