Following the November 6 election, media commentators buzzed about election coverage from Fox News and MSNBC and the networks’ respective conservative and liberal biases. But does recognition of such biases drive viewers away?
Probably not, according to a new poll by LifeWay Research. The survey of nearly 2,000 U.S. adults conducted after the election indicates that evangelicals may actually support Fox News more strongly now than they did before the election.
Among U.S. adults overall, 24 percent of respondents indicated that they trust Fox News more now, and 42 percent indicated that their perception of Fox has not changed.
“The results don’t support the post-election conversation about Fox News losing its reputation among viewers,” wrote LifeWay president Ed Stetzer.
Among evangelicals specifically, 17 percent indicated that they now are “much more trusting” of Fox News’s coverage.
Stetzers says this points toward “the deep mistrust that evangelicals, and many other Americans, have toward the mainstream media. I believe that many in the mainstream media have earned their reputation, so I would say to all news viewers: let the viewer beware. No one is without bias, left and right.”
A previous LifeWay survey examined how Protestant pastors view Fox News.
