Amid reports that BP has been able to at least temporarily stem the flow of oil from its ruptured underwater well, the public and the media last week again focused on the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
And, after several months of relentlessly bad news about the spreading spill, the possibility of a positive development appears to have registered with the public. Close to half (48%) say they have been hearing a mix of good and bad news about the situation in the Gulf, according to the latest weekly News Interest Index survey conducted July 15-18 among 1,003 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Only 18% say they have been hearing mostly good news, while 31% say they have been hearing mostly bad news.
More than half of the public (55%) say this was the news they followed most closely last week. The Gulf coast spill now has been the most closely followed story for each of the past 12 weeks.
Read the full report, Oil Leak News Viewed as Mix of Good and Bad on the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press' Web site.