Keller @ Large: What Really Captures Mass Attention

BOSTON (CBS) - So I was reading a story Wednesday about mounting public concern over Ebola, and it makes clear that people are very focused on the issue, 98% saying they've heard about the outbreak and half saying they're following the story intently.

And this leads to a striking observation by the pollsters at the Pew Research Center: that high level of interest makes Ebola the ninth most closely-followed story of the past four years.

Ahead of it, in ascending order: the bin Laden assassination, the passage of Obamacare, Hurricane Sandy, the Newtown school shootings, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the 2012 presidential election, and coming in at number one, with 63% following it "very closely" – the Boston Marathon bombings.

Notice what's missing: foreign news, with the exception of the bin Laden killing… media feeding-frenzy controversies like the uproar over the so-called "Ground Zero mosque" or the Occupy "movement"... social issues like gay marriage and teen bullying... celebrity news of any kind, including the marriage of Prince William and Kate and the endlessly-hyped Casey Anthony and Jodi Arias trials… and sports news of any kind.

Instead, here's what really captures mass attention: especially moving stories of innocent people at risk, major political stories involving the rise to power and the use our pols make of it, and profound corporate irresponsibility.

These seem like reasonable priorities.

The moral of the story: you'll pay attention when it really matters, but much of what we in the media are feeding you is background noise you can live without.

Consider the point taken.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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