A Country Divided — Partisanship and the Media

Drew Feliciano
Jul 20, 2017 · 1 min read

According to a report from May 2017 created by the Pew Research Center, Republicans are 47% less likely than Democrats to support the media’s role as a government “watchdog.”

A mere 42% of Republicans support the notion of a watchdog media. This comes as a surprise to researchers due to the fact that in early 2016, Pew Research found that 77% of Republicans supported the media’s role as a government watchdog.

Democrats on the other hand, have become more likely to support a watchdog media in the last year. As of March 2017, 89% of Democrats support the idea of having a watchdog media.

Overall, 70% of the public supports the idea of a watchdog media. While Pew Research states that, “While Republicans have been more likely to support a watchdog role during Democratic presidencies and vice versa, the distance between the parties has never approached the 47-point gap that exists today.”

Pew does acknowledge that since their surveys are now conducted online, they could yield different results than when they were conducted via phone.

What does this mean for the future of political media? Only time will tell.

)

Drew Feliciano

Written by

“Levitating youth looking* for the truth of where the fountain hides.” Political Science. Journalist. Writer. Techy. Hip Hop. Gaming.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade