The Press and National Security

The folks at the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press are out with new research on how Americans feel about reporting on government monitoring of bank records. Says the report:

The public is of two minds about news reports that the government has been secretly examining the bank records of American citizens who may have ties to terrorist groups. By a margin of 50%-34%, Americans think that news organizations have hurt rather than helped the interests of the American people with these reports. However, an even larger 65%-28% majority believes that these news accounts told citizens something that they should know about.

It should come as no surprise that one's position on the issue is dependent on one's politics. Eighty-two percent of the surveyed Democrats believe the public needs to know about the government's bank monitoring program. Only 45 percent of Republicans feel the same.

Also, close to seven in 10 Republicans think the reporting hurts the interests of the American people, a position taken by only 38% of the Democrats.