The Nieman Journalism Lab reports that two April studies conducted by the Pew Research Center show Americans are split along party lines when asked if the media is dividing us.
In Pew’s survey of 10,139 adults in America about coronavirus news coverage involved four questions:
- Whether the coverage is giving them the information they need, or not
- Whether it is largely accurate or inaccurate
- Whether it is benefiting the public or the media themselves
- Whether it is helping or hurting the country
According to Nieman, the differences among those surveyed were most stark when it came to political affiliation. The study found that “Republicans and Republican-leaning independents” trusted the news media’s coverage of COVID-19 far less than “Democrats and Democratic learners.”
Concerning the media’s coverage of the pandemic in America, Pew Senior Researcher Jeff Gottfried noted nearly 70 percent of “self-identified liberals” think the media’s coverage of the pandemic has been helpful but less than 25 percent of Republicans agree.
In its final analysis, Pew found that the partisan divide over opinions toward journalists is “wider than for any other group of individuals asked in the survey, including business leaders, elected officials, and religious leaders.”
Apparently, it isn’t just President Trump who doesn’t trust the media. Neither do nearly two-thirds of Americans.
Watch the video and learn from Glen Beck what Democrats and the mainstream media’s real goal is.
