Finally, some positive news for the media. According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 70% of American adults say the news media has covered the coronavirus outbreak either “very well” or “somewhat well.” The breakdown is 30% for “very well” and 40% for “somewhat well.”
On the other hand, 17% say the news media has covered the pandemic “not too well,” while 11% say “not well at all.” 1% refused to respond to the question.
As one might expect, self-described Democrats, independents and Republicans feel differently about media coverage.
Those who leaned toward the Democratic Party were much more likely to rate the media’s coronavirus coverage well. 79% of Democrats rated the coverage as either “very well” or “somewhat well.” 19% say “not too well” or “not well at all.” 1% did not respond.
Republicans held a more negative perception about media coverage of COVID-19. Republican-leaning voters tend to be more skeptical of television news coverage in general. At least on the national level.
59% of Republicans and those who lean Republican say the media has covered the COVID-19 pandemic either “very well” or “somewhat well.” 40% of Republicans and those who leaned Republican says the media has covered COVID-19 “not too well” or “not well at all.”
Overall, 57% of U.S. adults polled have been following COVID-19 coverage “very closely.” 35% say “fairly closely.” Only 7% say “not too closely.”
This is slightly different from the Knight Foundation/Gallup poll taken late last month and released earlier this week, which found that 97% of Americans had heard “a great deal” or “quite a lot” about the novel coronavirus.
Lastly, the results are mixed when it comes to Pres. Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. 23% of U.S. adult respondents say Trump is doing an excellent job at responding to the coronavirus outbreak. 25% say he’s doing good at responding. 19% say “only fair.” 32% say he’s doing a poor job.