Poll: 55% think media is devoting too much attention to Whitewater p. 19

By: Debra Gersh Hernandez

ALTHOUGH A MAJORITY of Amer-icans polled (52%) believe that the administration is covering up information about the Whitewater Development Co. that could be damaging to the Clintons, even more (55%) think there has been too much media attention to the case.
A survey by the Washington-based Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press also found that fewer respondents said they were very closely following stories about the Whitewater investigation and the administration's handling of it.
In the March survey, 11% said they very closely followed news of Whitewater, compared to 14% in January. Those who followed the news accounts fairly closely increased to 38% in March from 25% in January.
The number who said they followed the reports not too closely in January remained at 28% in March, and those who said they followed not at all closely decreased to 21% from 32% in January.
In addition, based on what they've read about Whitewater, 52% of respondents believe that the Clintons are guilty of only minor offenses; 13% said they were not guilty of any wrongdoing; and 15% believe that they are guilty of serious offenses.
Almost half (44%) said they believe that Whitewater is having a very disruptive effect on federal government efforts in other areas, and 37% said the issue is disrupting a little. Ten percent said it is not disruptive.