--- title: "Americans’ trust in local and national news organizations increases" description: "The Briefing ☀️ Happy Thursday! The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information. Sign up here! In today’s email: 🔥 Featured story President Donald Trump directed blame at Fox News for Republicans’ losses in the midterm elections on Tuesday, writing on Truth Social that the network “bears responsibility” for the results […]" date: "2026-11-05" authors: - name: "Sawyer Reed" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/newsletter/the-briefing/americans-trust-in-local-and-national-news-organizations-increases/" --- # Americans’ trust in local and national news organizations increases November 5, 2026 ## The Briefing --- **☀️ Happy Thursday!** *The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information. [**Sign up here!**](https://www.pewresearch.org/sign-up-for-the-briefing/)* **In today's email:** - **Featured story:** Trump criticizes Fox News after GOP losses in midterms - **New from Pew Research Center:** Americans’ trust in local and national news organizations increases - **In other news:** One of the last independent news outlets in Russia will shut down - **Looking ahead:** How the next Congress may investigate the Trump administration’s relationship with media companies - **Chart of the week:** Majorities in both parties say media criticism keeps politicians in check ### 🔥 **Featured story** **President Donald Trump** [directed blame](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/04/trump-fox-news-gop-midterm-losses.html) at **Fox News** for Republicans' losses in the **midterm elections** on Tuesday, [writing on Truth Social](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117556376518256698) that the network "bears responsibility" for the results for giving airtime to Democratic Party candidates. He also called into Fox News' live coverage around midnight, [criticizing the network's polls on air](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/04/trump-blames-fox-news-republican-losses). Fox News reported **lower viewership numbers in October** compared with last year, which Trump blamed on its coverage but Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch attributed to "viewer fatigue." The network has long stood out as a **dominant news source among Republicans.** Over half of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents (57%) said in a 2025 [Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/17/6-facts-about-fox-news/) that they regularly get news from Fox News – 30 percentage points higher than any of the other 29 news sources [included in the survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/feature/news-media-tracker/). And prior to the 2024 presidential election, an even larger share of Republicans (69%) said Fox News was a major or minor source of political and election news for them. ### 🚨 **New from Pew Research Center** Americans are more likely to trust information from national and local news organizations than they were a year ago, according to a [new Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/11/02/americans-trust-in-information-from-news-organizations-has-risen-in-the-past-year/). Overall, **62% of U.S. adults now say they have at least some trust in information from national news organizations,** up from 56% in 2025. **Three-quarters (75%) say the same about local news organizations,** up from 70% last year. Trust has increased among both Republicans and Democrats, though Democrats remain substantially more trusting of news organizations. Americans continue to express lower levels of trust in information from social media sites. ### 📌 **In other news** - **Novaya Gazeta,** one of the last independent news outlets in **Russia,** announces it [will shut down](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/30/business/novaya-gazeta-russian-newspaper-shutdown-intl) - **Anthropic** and **The Associated Press** [strike content deal for election coverage](https://www.adweek.com/media/anthropic-licensing-deal-ap-election/) - Major groups representing creative talent [file briefs supporting The New York Times](https://www.axios.com/2026/11/03/hollywood-new-york-times-openai-microsoft) in its lawsuit against **OpenAI** and **Microsoft** - Judge [dismisses Trump’s lawsuit](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/31/wall-street-journal-epstein-trump-01144638) against **The Wall Street Journal** over birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein - A look at how **Tucker Carlson****’s Daily Caller** is [diverging from other conservative media](https://www.semafor.com/article/11/01/2026/more-maga-than-maga-how-the-daily-caller-turned-on-maga-and-trump) in its coverage of Trump, Israel and the war with Iran - An openly liberal **Iowa political reporter** [faces access challenges](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/11/03/business/media/laura-belin-iowa-political-reporter.html) from both parties - **Czech public broadcasters** strike alongside nationwide protest in [response to government plan to reduce funding](https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/czech-public-media-launch-strike-accusing-government-political-meddling-2026-11-03/) - **Brazilian court** bars **Meta** from using [content from news outlets](https://www.niemanlab.org/reading/brazilian-court-prohibits-meta-from-using-journalistic-content-without-authorization/) without approval; Meta [loses appeal](https://www.reuters.com/world/meta-loses-appeals-against-interim-measures-imposed-by-french-regulators-2026-10-29/) against **French regulators** ### 📅 **Looking ahead** After the Democratic Party regained control of the House and Senate in this week's midterm elections, one area of focus in the new Congress [reportedly may be](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/democrats-win-house-hearing-moguls-investigations-election-1236746295/) investigating the **Trump administration's relationships with media companies.** These include the government's role in recent mergers and sales involving Paramount, TikTok and others, as well as the Federal Communications Commission's review of broadcast licenses. Many Americans are wary of both **corporate and political influence on U.S. news organizations,** according to a [June 2026 survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/09/15/how-americans-think-about-corporate-and-political-influence-on-the-news/) from the Pew-Knight Initiative. A large majority of Americans say U.S. news organizations are at least somewhat influenced by both corporate and political interests, including around half who think U.S. news organizations are influenced *a great deal* by corporations and financial interests (54%) or government and political interests (49%). ### 📊 **Chart of the week** This week's chart comes from a [new Pew Research Center analysis](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/11/02/majorities-in-both-parties-say-media-criticism-keeps-politicians-in-check/) of how Americans view the news media's watchdog role. **Eight-in-ten U.S. adults say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things they shouldn't,** up from 75% in 2025. Majorities of both Republicans (73%) and Democrats (89%) express this view, including those who lean to each party. The share of Republicans who say the news media help keep political leaders in check has risen from 67% in 2024, bucking a recent pattern in which Republicans have typically become *less* likely to express this view in the years after GOP presidents take office. ### 80% of Americans say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things they shouldn’t *% of U.S. adults who say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things that shouldn’t be done* | | All U.S. adults | Rep/Lean Rep | Dem/Lean Dem | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 8/2026 | 80 | 73 | 89 | | 9/2025 | 75 | 66 | 86 | | 9/2024 | 74 | 67 | 81 | | 3/2019 | 68 | 50 | 82 | | 3/2018 | 65 | 42 | 84 | | 3/2017 | 70 | 48 | 88 | | 2/2016 | 75 | 77 | 74 | | 7/2013 | 68 | 69 | 70 | | 7/2011 | 58 | 61 | 57 | | 7/2009 | 62 | 66 | 59 | | 7/2007 | 58 | 47 | 70 | | 11/2005 | 62 | 43 | 73 | | 6/2005 | 60 | 44 | 75 | | 7/2003 | 54 | 49 | 58 | | 7/2002 | 59 | 54 | 68 | | 11/2001 | 55 | 49 | 63 | | 9/2001 | 60 | 51 | 68 | | 2/1999 | 58 | 67 | 55 | | 2/1998 | 55 | | | | 1/1994 | 66 | 70 | 64 | | 8/1989 | 68 | | | | 7/1985 | 67 | | | Note: Survey data is from Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (2016-2026) and Center phone surveys (1986-2013). Survey methodology and question wording have changed over time. Surveys in 1985, 1989 and 1998 that did not ask independents whether they lean toward the Democratic Party or Republican Party are excluded from party analysis. Refer to the detailed responses for more details. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026. *👋 That's all for this week.* The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Christopher St. Aubin, Emily Tomasik, Joanne Haner, and Sawyer Reed. It is edited by Michael Lipka and copy edited by David Kent. *Do you like this newsletter? Email us at [journalism@pewresearch.org](mailto:journalism@pewresearch.org) or fill out this [two-question survey](https://us1.list-manage.com/survey?u=434f5d1199912232d416897e4&id=449f3c3d35&attribution=false) to tell us what you think*.