When asked about the news sources they turn to for political and election information, Americans name hundreds of different outlets. But there is one clear standout: Fox News. The network has a wide share of adults who say they view it as part of the mainstream media, compared with just 5% of adults who name local TV as their main source of political news.
The main reason for this difference is the nature of the coverage. Fox aligns closely with expectations for a partisan news outlet in its overall coverage of both Biden and Trump, with a high proportion of horserace reports that were positive for Biden and negative for Trump (see Figure 4).
While the network did not find much good to report on either candidate’s policy positions or symbolic issue statements, it did report positively on Biden’s leadership qualities and other personal qualities. However, this coverage was a distant second to the volume of negative reports. The fact that Fox’s coverage of Biden was dominated by negative tone is a reminder of the partisanship in its news agenda.
In the wake of the midterm elections, the nation’s major political parties are presenting starkly differing visions for America’s future. It is the voters who will ultimately decide which of these visions wins out, but the mainstream press should aim to clarify and not confound that choice. This article was adapted from a report by the Cook Political Report.
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