Several stories that have dominated the news this summer, including the California recall and the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case, are not generating much interest among the general public. Fewer than one-in-five Americans are paying very close attention to news about the recall, the Bryant case and the growing debate over gay marriage.
By comparison, more than twice as many Americans (45%) are tracking news from Iraq very closely and the same percentage paid very close attention to the deaths of Saddam Hussein's two sons at the hands of U.S. forces.
The Pew Research Center's news interest index for August shows that the public is still largely disinterested in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Just 12% of Americans are following the race very closely, up only slightly from May (8%).
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