Pew Poll: 65 Percent Says News Media Has 'Negative Effect' on America

November 25th, 2015 2:36 PM

Paul Bedard at The Washington Examiner reports a new Pew Research Center survey found “More than six in 10 Americans believe that the news media, followed closely by Hollywood, has a negative effect on the country.”

The extensive interview of 6,004 respondents from August 27 to October 4 found that 65 percent believe that the news media "has a negative effect on the way things are going in the country." Some 56 percent said the entertainment industry has a negative effect. Only 32 percent say the entertainment industry has a positive effect, and only 25 percent check that box for the news media.       

While the percentage of people taking a positive view of the entertainment industry is about the same as a March 2010 Pew survey, the news media's positive rating dropped six points from 31 percent. On the media, conservatives were the harshest with 82 percent grading the media poorly.

As for those non-governmental institutions that Pew studied, here's who came out on top, and in the middle:

Of 10 nongovernmental institutions included in the survey, majorities say four are having a positive effect on the way things are going in the country: small businesses (82% positive), technology companies (71%), colleges and universities (63%) and churches and other religious institutions (61%).

The public is more divided over the impact of three other institutions - the energy industry (48% positive), labor unions (45%) and banks and financial institutions (40%).

Views on the federal government (25 percent positive) and Congress (14 percent positive) were as just as harsh or harsher than the news media. The positive perception of Congress dropped 11 points from 2010.

Both sides of the political divide seem to hate Congress -- not a surprise to hear any conservative radio host discuss the congressional Republicans despite (or because of) their majority status. Both sides tell Pew their side is losing:

This sense of "losing" is more widely shared among Republicans than Democrats - large majorities of both conservative Republicans (81%) and moderate and liberal Republicans (75%) say their political side loses more often than it wins.

But while most Republicans feel like they lose more often than they win, most Democrats do not feel like "winners" either. Overall, 52% of Democrats say their side loses more often than it wins, while 40% say it usually wins. Liberal Democrats are divided over whether their side wins or loses more often (46% winning vs. 44% losing) - the only ideological group in which a majority does not think its side is losing.