MSNBC the Least Trusted TV News Source Among All Americans

Every news network likes to claim the mantle of “the most trusted name in news,” and a new Brookings and Public Religion Research Institute poll seeks to demonstrate who actually does and does not deserve that claim. Among many insights we can take from the survey, perhaps the most interesting is that, among all TV news sources, MSNBC is identified as “most trusted” by the fewest people.

The New Republic looked at the data and gleaned that Fox News, while the “most trusted,” also had the most deeply polarized fanbase, largely made up of “the Republican Party’s most conservative members.” Self-identified Democrats spread their “trust” among most TV news outlets (with Fox at only 6%), while Republicans are largely concentrated on Fox News (unsurprising if you followed the emergence of conservative media and “media bias” discussions in the 1990s).

The survey also demonstrates a disparity between how most Americans view an issue like immigration and how Fox’s viewership understands the topic (see below chart):

But perhaps even more fascinating than that is the survey’s ranking of which TV outlets are trusted overall, among all Americans:

Among all Americans surveyed, only 5% identify MSNBC as their “most trusted” TV news outlet, while Fox (25%), broadcast networks (23%), and CNN (21%) make up the top three. Now, of course, the argument could be made that MSNBC’s just trusted by the fewest because of exposure (CNN and Fox are much bigger household names; and broadcast networks are still the dominant news outlets in the ratings).

Also interesting is the fact that despite Jon Stewart‘s reputation as being the news source for younger demographics, among all age ranges, he only garners 8% of people’s “most trusted” label.

All very fascinating stuff. Read the full survey here.

[h/t Jon Ward / BuzzFeedAndrew]

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This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.