Media

24% Will Rely on Internet for Most Political News in 2012

Most voters will continue to rely on either cable or traditional television news to stay up with politics this year, but the Internet will provide the election coverage for a quarter of the nation.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 32% of Likely U.S. Voters will get most of their political news in 2012 from cable television and 22% from traditional TV network news. The number following the election news online has inched above the audience for traditional TV networks. Twenty-four percent (24%) will primarily rely on the Internet for coverage of Election 2012. Nine percent (9%) who will still rely on print newspapers  and seven percent (7%) will chiefly count on radio. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

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The national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on January 11-12, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Most Believe Reporters Publish Damaging Info First, Check Facts Later

If it hurts a candidate they don’t like, most voters believe that reporters would publish damaging allegations first and seek to verify the facts later.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 54% of likely voters nationwide believe most reporters would follow the “publish first” approach while 34% believe the reporters would try to verify the facts before publishing them.

61% Are Still Angry At The Media

Most voters are still angry at the media, but they’re less convinced that the majority of reporters are biased in favor of President Obama.

62% Say Congress More Responsive To Media Than To Voters

Most voters think the news media has too much power over their elected representatives in Washington and the decisions they make. It’s yet another finding that highlights the distance voters see between themselves and their government.

24% Have Favorable Opinion of New York Times

Just 24% of American voters have a favorable opinion of the New York Times. Forty-four percent (44%) have an unfavorable opinion and 31% are not sure.

Associated Press, MSNBC and CNBC Seen as Having Liberal Bias

In the final poll of a series measuring perceptions of media bias, the Associated Press, local television stations, MSNBC, and CNBC are all perceived as tilting to the left when reporting the news.

New York Times, Washington Post, and Local Newspapers Seen as Having Liberal Bias

A Rasmussen Reports survey on perceptions of media bias found that Americans tend to believe that the New York Times, Washington Post, and their local newspaper all show a bias in favor of liberals.

Public Divided on Fairness Doctrine

Americans are evenly divided as to whether or not the government should “require all radio and television stations to offer equal amounts of conservative and liberal political commentary.”

Americans See Liberal Media Bias on TV News

By a 39% to 20% margin, American adults believe that the three major broadcast networks deliver news with a bias in favor of liberals.

Politicians Earn Higher Favorable Ratings Than Journalists

While Americans tend to hold politics and politicians in low regard, the leading Election 2008 Presidential candidates are viewed more favorably than the nation’s leading news reporters.

Poll: Just 28% Say Use of Anonymous Sources is Ethical

Just 28% of Americans say it is ethical for reporters to publish news stories based upon anonymous sources.

Voters See Newspaper Bias

Forty percent (40%) of voters see the campaign coverage of their local newspapers as unbiased. However, only 20% to 29% view national papers as unbiased.

Among five different papers, the New York Times is seen as the most biased--35% believe its coverage is biased to help Kerry while only 22% believe it is unbiased. This may be a lingering response to the Jayson Blair scandals from last year. At that time, only 46% of Americans viewed the New York Times as a reliable source of information.

Voters See All Networks with Bias

Television news networks would like to see themselves as a team of impartial journalists working on behalf of their audience.

Just 46% Consider NY Times Reliable

Just 46% of Americans believe that information reported in the New York Times is "very reliable" or "somewhat reliable." Twenty-three percent (23%) say information in the Times is "not very reliable" or "not at all reliable."