Gallup: Most Americans View Media as Biased

by Stephan Tawney on September 22, 2011

A clear majority of Americans view the mainstream media as biased, and of those most perceive a liberal bias — that according to a new poll from Gallup.

The majority of Americans (60%) also continue to perceive bias, with 47% saying the media are too liberal and 13% saying they are too conservative, on par with what Gallup found last year. The percentage of Americans who say the media are “just about right” edged up to 36% this year but remains in the range Gallup has found historically.

55% of Americans have “little or no trust” in the mainstream media. Just 44% have a “great deal or fair amount” of trust.

20% of Democrats, 50% of Independents, and 75% of Republicans view the media as too liberal. Interestingly, 16% of self-described liberals say the media is too biased in their favor. Just 32% of Independents and 20% of Republicans view the media as balanced.

Just 20% of Democrats, 13% of Independents, and 4% of Republicans view the media as too conservative. 37% of liberals, 11% of moderates, and 3% of conservatives say the same. Overall, Americans are far more likely to identify liberal bias than supposed conservative bias.



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