Pew Research shows why the New York Times and other national newspaper have a lot to worry about.
While Republicans have long been more skeptical than Democrats about major media sources, the magnitude of the difference is a relatively recent phenomenon. In Pew's first measure of media favorability in 1985, there were modest differences of opinion across party lines.
Both Democrats and Republicans held overwhelmingly favorable views of network TV news (92% of Democrats who gave a rating, 88% of Republicans), the daily newspaper people read most often (89% of both Democrats and Republicans rated favorably), and large national newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post (85% of Democrats, 79% of Republicans).
In the current survey, however, fewer than half of Republicans (41%) express a favorable opinion of major national newspapers, a 38-point decline when compared with 1985. Independents also regard major newspapers far less favorably. Currently, 60% of independents able to rate these newspapers have a positive impression of them; in 1985, 80% of independents viewed them favorably. By contrast, Democrats view major national papers nearly as favorably now as in 1985 (79% now, 85% then).
Not surprisingly, Fox and other cable news providers are in trouble, too, as their credibility falls into the tank. Across the board. But those who use the internet are the most critical of the media -- are you surprised?
The American public continues to fault news organizations for a number of perceived failures, with solid majorities criticizing them for political bias, inaccuracy and failing to acknowledge mistakes. But some of the harshest indictments of the press now come from the growing segment that relies on the internet as its main source for national and international news.
