Aftermath: 70% Of Americans Following Story; Most Give Press Good Marks

Highlights from this new Pew study:

> “Seven-in-ten Americans say they have paid very close attention to news of the hurricane’s impact, somewhat fewer than very closely followed reports on the 9/11 terrorist attacks (74%). But another major news story has attracted as much public interest; as gas prices have shot up so has public attention to news reports on the topic (71% very closely).”

> “Overall, two-thirds give news organizations excellent (28%) or good (37%) ratings for their coverage of the impact of Katrina. This is considerably more favorable than the public’s ratings a year ago for press coverage of the presidential election campaign.”

> “All in all, most (62%) say the amount of coverage given to Katrina’s aftermath is appropriate, while less than a quarter (21%) say there has been too much. There is a considerable partisan divide on this, however ­ Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say there has been too much coverage of the impact of Katrina (27% vs. 15% of Democrats).”