This week was a more typical news week, which hasn’t happened in a long time. Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars became fodder for newscasts across the country as a Hollywood story broke through the headlines.
Indeed, a story that could have made headlines months ago – the government’s approval of a fourth Covid-19 vaccine for adults aged 50 and up – barely made a ripple. This week’s statistical journey begins with the fact that the coronavirus pandemic, now in its third year, is no longer a top news story.
Americans are no longer concerned about the coronavirus.
For about two years, the president’s popularity (whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden) was directly related to how he handled the coronavirus pandemic.
A recent poll provides useful information. Only 3% of Americans said coronavirus or diseases are the most serious problem facing the country. This is less than half of the previous low for this answer (8%), which occurred in mid-2021 when case rates were also declining.
Two years ago (April 2020), a record 45 percent said the coronavirus was the country’s most serious problem. It’s not surprising that we’re no longer at that level. Even so, when I saw that 3 percent, I had to take a step back.
In January, 20% of Americans said the coronavirus was the most serious problem confronting the country.
Americans’ interest in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may be waning.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, unlike the coronavirus pandemic, has never been a top-of-mind issue for Americans. However, it has been the top news story.
According to the most recent polling, Americans’ interest in the conflict may be waning, with a significant partisan gap emerging.
Examine the Reuters/Ipsos polls. While this weekly poll does not specifically ask about Ukraine, it does include “war and foreign conflict” as an option when asked about the most pressing issue confronting America.
This week, 11% of Americans cited war and foreign conflict as the most pressing issue. This is a decrease from 14% the previous week, 16% two weeks ago, and 17% three weeks ago.
What we see on television reflects this decline in interest. This week, there were approximately 4,500 mentions of Ukraine on cable news from Monday to Wednesday. Ukraine was mentioned approximately 7,000 times in the same three days four weeks prior.
The drop has been most visible on Fox. While mentions of Ukraine on CNN and MSNBC have decreased by about 28% in the last month, they have decreased by 50% on Fox.
The partisan divide over the importance of overseas conflicts is reflected in other polls as well. The Gallup poll I mentioned earlier is a little older, but it specifically mentions Russia and Ukraine. According to that poll, 9 percent of Americans believe the “situation with Russia and Ukraine” is the most pressing issue facing the country.