The Pew Research Center reported today that one-fourth of Americans are paying attention to the tumult and violence in Iraq, even as America’s involvement in the situation begins to grow.
Americans are ‘modestly’ interested in Iraq coverage, according to a recent survey from the Pew Research Center. Credit: Pew Research Center
The report, which was based on a survey of 1,002 adults from June 26 to 29, shows that a slightly larger proportion of Americans (29 percent) are more interested in the problems afflicting the country’s veterans hospitals than they are the strife in Iraq. It also notes that Interest in the recent spate of Supreme Court decisions (15 percent) is lower than the interest in the World Cup (17 percent).
Audience interest changes by age, the study found. Adults younger than 30 are paying more attention to the World Cup than they are to news coming out of the capital, the survey found. About 24 percent of young adults are watching the drama play out in South America, but just 13 percent of them are following the insurgency spreading across Iraq.
The study also found that interest in some stories is divided along party lines. About 33 percent of Republicans are keeping up with the IRS’ targeting of certain political groups, compared to 16 percent of Democrats.
