Can't say I'm surprised by the disconnect.

Here are the latest findings from the Pew Research Center, which tracks on a weekly basis which news stories consumers are following most closely, as compared to which stories the news media are pushing:

While the media focused on the emotionally-charged debate over plans to build an Islamic mosque and cultural center near the World Trade Center site in New York City last week, the public continued to track the Gulf oil leak.

Despite the fact that mosque debate represented the most-covered story in the press last week, in terms of interest it ranked third, well behind news of BP oil leak, and also behind news of the economy. A recent media survey found that nearly 30 percent of all cable news coverage last week dealt with the mosque story.