A new YouGov survey explores how Americans feel about the news media’s coverage of the presidential election and how the candidates treat the media. Growing shares of Democrats and Republicans say this election’s coverage has been worse than usual. Yet other poll findings show growth in trust in media, and in valuing campaign journalism.
Nearly half (47%) of Americans say the news media has done a worse job than usual covering this election in 2024, up from 39% who said this in an Economist / YouGov Poll conducted September 29 - October 1, 2024. 31% say compared to the coverage of other elections in their lifetimes, this cycle’s coverage has been about the same as usual; only 10% say it’s been better than usual.
66% of Republicans, along with 48% of Independents and 28% of Democrats, say the news media’s coverage has been worse than usual in 2024. Among Republicans, this marks an 11-percentage-point increase in two weeks.
When a candidate’s word conflicts with the media's, who do Americans believe? If a national media outlet reported that something Donald Trump said was untrue, 32% say they would be more inclined to believe the media outlet, 22% would believe Trump, and 34% say it depends on the story. 53% of Republicans and 3% of Democrats say they would believe Trump.
On this topic, media trust has grown — and grown more polarized — since Trump's first presidential run. In November 2016, fewer (21%) said they would believe the media outlet. At the time, 44% of Democrats said they would be inclined to believe the media outlet over Trump. Now, 61% would.
If a national media outlet reported that something Kamala Harris said was untrue, 18% would believe the media outlet, 13% would believe Harris, and 52% say it depends on the story. 28% of Democrats would believe Harris, as would only 1% of Republicans.
Opinion also has shifted toward the belief that candidates have an obligation to talk to journalists. 76% of Americans think presidential candidates have a responsibility to regularly answer questions from members of the media, up from 68% in November 2016. 8% say they do not. Democrats and Republicans are almost equally likely to say candidates do have this responsibility (83% and 79%). In November 2016, fewer Republicans (67%) shared this view.
Americans are slightly more likely to say the way Trump treats journalists is unacceptable (42%) rather than acceptable (36%). 76% of Republicans, 28% of Independents, and 8% of Democrats say the way he treats journalists is acceptable.
Americans are more likely to say the way Harris treats journalists is acceptable (51%) rather than unacceptable (19%). Among Democrats, 82% think the way she treats journalists is acceptable; 46% of Independents and 22% of Republicans agree.
In November 2016, fewer Republicans (63%) said Trump’s treatment of journalists was acceptable. 18% said it was unacceptable.
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Related:
- Times/SAY24 poll shows Harris leading as Americans split on whether our best days are behind us or ahead of us
- Democrats and Republicans are more enthusiastic about their candidates winning than in 2016 or 2020
- Trust in Media 2024: Which news sources Americans trust — and which they think lean left or right
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: This YouGov poll was conducted online on October 15 - 17, 2024 among 1,153 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty
