Economy Most Closely Read News Story

The economy remains the news story Americans are following most closely, according to a survey released today.

The nomination of U.S. Circuit Judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court was the second most closely watched story in the last month, according to the Times Mirror News Interest Index.

The Thomas nomination has captured the close attention of a third of Americans, twice as many as followed the failed nomination of Robert H. Bork four years ago (17%) or of David H. Souter last year (16%).

The third most closely followed story in the last month was news about military base closings, which 31% watched very closely.

And 26% closely followed White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu’s use of government vehicles and personnel for private travel. That story was rated fourth.

In addition, 25% closely followed the Supreme Court ruling that bans mention of abortion at health care clinics receiving federal funds.

The survey found that 35% of Americans said that they were “very closely” following news about the economy, the sixth consecutive monthly survey in which a third or more of Americans stated such interest. People in the East seem to be following it more closely (42%) than those elsewhere.

This period coincides with six months in which President Bush’s approval rating has fallen from a postwar high of 84% to 67% in the current survey.

The Times Mirror Index, which tracks public response to the news, interviewed 1,212 adults July 11 to 14. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points and could be vulnerable to bias from the wording of questions.