Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
Who Watches Wall Street?
Interest in the Stock Market Is Currently Relatively High, but Only a Minority of Americans Regularly Follows Financial News
Continuing volatility in the stock market made the U.S. economy a top news story again last week. One-in-five Americans followed news about the stock market very closely, and 9% said this was the single news story they followed more closely than any other – making it the fifth most closely followed story of the week. The national news media devoted 7% of its overall coverage to the U.S. economy, and 2% of the coverage focused specifically on stock market news.
While interest in the stock market has been fairly consistent in recent months, only a minority of Americans follows stock market news on a regular basis. The core audience for stock market news is relatively narrow – comprising mainly more affluent individuals and those actively involved in the market. Consumer issues generate much greater public interest. Nearly seven-in-ten Americans regularly follow news about gas and energy prices, while only 28% say they follow such news only when there are major headlines. A 53% majority follows news about the price of food and consumer goods regularly; 43% follow this news only when there are major headlines.
Other types of economic news mainly draw a large audience when there are major headlines. Four-in-ten Americans regularly follow news about the job situation in the U.S., 55% say they follow employment news only when there are major headlines. Even fewer Americans (37%) regularly follow news about the housing market, and 35% regularly follow news about interest rates -- the same percentage as follow the stock market regularly -- while majorities say they follow these types of news only when there are major headlines. Finally, international financial news attracts the smallest audience: 28% follow financial news from around the world while 64% follow it only when there are major headlines.
The top economic news topics also attract the broadest-based audiences. Interest in news about gas and energy prices is consistent across various educational and incomes groups. College graduates and those who never attended college are equally likely to follow this type of news regularly. Similarly, those with annual household incomes under $30,000 and those with incomes in excess of $75,000 follow gas prices in roughly equal proportions.
A similar pattern can be seen for news about food and other consumer goods. Interest in this type of news is comparable across different levels of education and income. Older Americans and women are among the most interested in consumer prices. Interest in news about the job situation is also fairly steady across income groups. However, those who never attended college follow job news somewhat more closely than those who attended or graduated from college.
Other types of economic news appeal to a more affluent, more highly-educated audience. Nearly half of those with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more regularly follow news about the housing market. This compares with fewer than 30% of those with incomes under $50,000. Among college graduates, 47% regularly follow housing news compared with 28% of those who have never attended college.
As with stock market news, higher-income Americans are much more likely than lower- and middle- income Americans to follow this type of news regularly. Men follow stock market news much more closely than do women. The same educational and income patterns can be seen for news about interest rates and international economic news. In each case, those with higher incomes and higher levels of education pay closer attention to news about these topics.
Top Business News Sources
Television is the public's main source of news about economic and financial issues. Nearly eight-in-ten Americans (79%) say they get most of their economic news from television. Less than half of the public (44%) gets economic news from newspapers. The internet rivals newspapers as a primary source for economic news: 39% of Americans get most of their economic news from online sources. Relatively small percentages rely on radio (19%) and magazines (7%) for economic news.
Those who are actively involved in trading stocks and other funds rely heavily on the internet for business and economic news. The internet is the top source for business news among those who trade stocks regularly. Fully 60% of active traders get most of their business news online. This compares with 42% of those who have some long-term investments but don't trade stocks regularly and only 33% of those who don't have any money invested in the stock market. These non-investors rely heavily on television for their business news.
The vast majority of Americans who do get most of their business and economic news from television rely more on cable news sources than on network or local TV news. More than four-in-ten Americans (43%) tune into cable news for economic updates and information, 23% tune into network TV news and 19% rely on local news. Among cable outlets, CNN is the top news source at 20% followed by the Fox News Channel (13%), MSNBC (6%) and CNBC (4%).
Those who rely on the internet for business news turn to a variety of websites with no one source clearly dominating. One-in-ten Americans go to Yahoo or Yahoo Finance for business and economic news. Another 7% frequent CNN.com, while 6% visit MSNBC. The top 10 online business news sources are a mixture of internet-only sites (such as Yahoo, Google and AOL) and the websites of major news organizations (such as CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and the New York Times).
Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis
Most Americans have heard at least something about the problems with sub-prime loans in the home mortgage market. Nearly four-in-ten (39%) have heard a lot about this situation, 33% have heard a little, and 27% have heard nothing at all. College graduates and those in the highest income brackets are among the most likely to have heard a lot about the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Adults under 30 have heard very little about this issue – fully 49% say they've heard nothing at all about it.
Among those who have heard about the issue, only 20% say they understand the situation very well. Another 44% say they understand it fairly well, and 36% say they either don't understand it too well or they don't understand it at all.