A. Guttmann
Research Lead covering media
Media and politics in the United States - statistics & facts
Mass media plays an important role in shaping American politics. As the parties and presidential candidates intensify their campaigning efforts, the public interest in being on top of current political news increases. However, recent political and social issues along with the candidacy of Donald Trump and his opponent Kamala Harris have pushed the opinions of liberals and conservatives about mass media even farther apart. These massive differences of opinion lead to lower public trust and confidence in news media, which has a potential to further alienate the opposing groups from each other, and to create space for distortion and deception.
The relationship between media and politics in the U.S. appears to be at a breaking point. One thing that is very clear is that media outlets must go to greater lengths to ensure the fairness and accuracy of their coverage in order to retain the trust of their viewers.
Consumption and perception of political coverage in media
Recent data shows that the American public is largely unhappy about the coverage of the 2024 elections in the news – close to half thinks this year’s reporting is worse than usual. Interestingly, quite a lot of U.S. adults admit that they get political news by chance, while only 40 percent actively look for it. This trend is more common for younger generations, while mature audiences search for news with intent. Most of Americans turn to national or local TV networks for their political news but a significant share of U.S. adults is using social media to get informed about the elections as well. Here too, however, differences are visible between party affiliations – Democrats tend to trust the social media to accurately report on the election information, while Republicans have an opposing view. All in all, political debates, national TV news interviews, and press conferences are seen as important communication channels for the candidates.Bias, false news, and misinformation
Although media houses are expected to be accurate and unbiased, many Americans have come to distrust the media’s reporting on political news and events. In a 2024 survey, 51 percent of Republican respondents believed they saw inaccurate news about the upcoming elections extremely often. In comparison, a fourth of Democrats said the same thing. At the same time, spotting the truth in news reporting also differs by party ID. Almost two-thirds of Republicans said it is difficult for them to gauge what is true or not, while this rate was at 42 percent for the Democrats. No matter the political affiliation, bias and inaccuracy are major concerns about election news coverage among the public, along with disinformation and lack of fact checking.The relationship between media and politics in the U.S. appears to be at a breaking point. One thing that is very clear is that media outlets must go to greater lengths to ensure the fairness and accuracy of their coverage in order to retain the trust of their viewers.
