Pew Rates the Press

A poll from Pew Research Center shows some interesting numbers. Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low: Overview

Just 29% of Americans say that news organizations generally get the facts straight, while 63% say that news stories are often inaccurate. In the initial survey in this series about the news media’s performance in 1985, 55% said news stories were accurate while 34% said they were inaccurate. That percentage had fallen sharply by the late 1990s and has remained low over the last decade.

Press Criticism Now More Bipartisan

Stories often inaccurate	Jul 07 %	Jul 09 %	Change
Total	53	63	+10
Republicans	63	69	+6
Democrats	43	59	+16
Independents	43	59	-3
R-D Gap	+20	+10
Tend to favor one side
Total	66	74	+8
Republicans	81	84	+3
Democrats	54	67	+13
Independents	68	73	+5
R-D Gap	+27	+17
Too critical of America
Total	43	44	+1
Republicans	63	60	-3
Democrats	23	33	+10
Independents	45	41	-4
R-D Gap	+10	+27

Partisan Views of Leading News Outlets

	Total	Rep	Dem	Ind	R-D Gap
CNN	%	%	%	%
Favorable	60	44	75	55	-31
Unfavorable	19	34	7	22	+27
DK / Can't rate	21	22	18	23
Fox News	%	%	%	%
Favorable	55	72	43	55	+29
Unfavorable	25	13	36	24	-23
DK / Can't rate	20	15	21	21
MSNBC	%	%	%	%
Favorable	48	34	60	47	-26
Unfavorable	19	35	7	20	+28
DK / Can't rate	33	31	32	33
Network TV	%	%	%	%
Favorable	64	55	81	54	-26
Unfavorable	24	25	9	33	+26
DK / Can't rate	21	22	18	23
NY Times	%	%	%	%
Favorable	29	16	39	29	-23
Unfavorable	17	31	8	18	+23
DK / Can't rate	21	22	18	23
NPR	%	%	%	%
Favorable	44	39	50	43	-11
Unfavorable	12	13	7	16	+6
DK / Can't rate	44	48	43	40
Wall St. Journal	%	%	%	%
Favorable	32	39	29	32	+10
Unfavorable	13	12	16	12	-4
DK / Can't rate	55	29	56	56