Pew is out with a new study today about political polarization in the U.S. “Republicans and Democrats are more divided along ideological lines than at any point in the last two decades,” the study’s authors write. The findings, based on a survey of 10,000 adults nationwide, extend to media, specifically two cable news networks which program to ideologically different audiences.
Not surprisingly, of those who identify as “consistently liberal,” 73% find Fox News unfavorable. Of those who identify as “consistently conservative,” 71% find MSNBC unfavorable.
A couple of the more interesting discoveries: among the “mostly liberal” camp, a higher percentage (33%) find Fox News favorable, while a smaller percentage (32%) find it unfavorable. (ie. liberals will watch Bill O’Reilly so they can disagree with him). Additionally, MSNBC does not draw the same positive reviews from “consistent liberals” that Fox News does from “consistent conservatives.” (MSNBC’s viewers overall are “meh”.)
