Amy Watson
Research expert covering news and publishing
Political news consumption and coverage in the United States - statistics & facts
Politics can be a divisive topic, and at a time when political polarization is on the rise and trust in governments and the press is falling, communicating political updates to the public is becoming more challenging. At the same time, the fact that the public’s engagement with and perception of news can vary substantially according to political affiliation makes matters more complicated.
At the same time, engagement with certain political news sources in the U.S. differed notably depending on the consumer’s political stance – the clearest example being that Republicans were more than twice as likely to turn to Fox News than Democrats, whereas the opposite was true of CNN. The share heading to local sources and social media for political news, on the other hand, was fairly even among all respondents regardless of their political standpoint. This could mean that consumers head to networks aligning with their politics for certain political updates but to more neutral sites for others. In a news landscape where not only biased but also false or suspicious information distorts the public’s view of prominent issues, fact-based and impartial news is key in keeping consumers engaged.
A further difficulty faced by members of the public seeking unbiased news they can rely on was highlighted in a 2022 study, which revealed that politicians and political parties ranked among the main figures and institutions where people saw or heard criticism about journalists and news organizations. Whilst voicing opinions is not tantamount to spreading biased news content, the lines are growing progressively blurrier in terms of what can be perceived as simply the personal view of a key figure versus official news content, partly thanks to the ease with which information can be disseminated via quick-fire social media channels. For consumers seeking unbiased and accurate political news coverage, the options are wearing thinner, but representation of issues from a non-partisan perspective could help in retaining and appealing to fatigued and polarized audiences.
Personal politics, trust, and bias
Personal politics and opinions of the press are often closely interlinked. In the United States, the share of adults with a favorable view of the news media was more than five times higher among Democrats than Republicans. Partly responsible for this trust gap is the bias audiences perceive in news content. Close to 80 percent of Republicans reported seeing a great deal of political bias in news coverage, compared to only a third of Democrats.The need for non-partisan and accurate news coverage
Non-partisan news is considered important, and bias in news can negatively impact people’s ability to sort out the facts. Audiences are also inclined to be distrustful of news in general, and election coverage is no exception. A key example of this can be seen in Brazil, where two thirds of consumers believed that “fake news” on messaging apps and social media could influence the results of the 2022 Brazilian presidential election.A further difficulty faced by members of the public seeking unbiased news they can rely on was highlighted in a 2022 study, which revealed that politicians and political parties ranked among the main figures and institutions where people saw or heard criticism about journalists and news organizations. Whilst voicing opinions is not tantamount to spreading biased news content, the lines are growing progressively blurrier in terms of what can be perceived as simply the personal view of a key figure versus official news content, partly thanks to the ease with which information can be disseminated via quick-fire social media channels. For consumers seeking unbiased and accurate political news coverage, the options are wearing thinner, but representation of issues from a non-partisan perspective could help in retaining and appealing to fatigued and polarized audiences.
