--- title: "MSNBC-NBC News tensions over political coverage" description: "Plus, Biden and Trump agree to debates, The Athletic in talks to unionize" date: "2024-05-16" authors: - name: "Emily Tomasik" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/newsletter/the-briefing/msnbc-nbc-news-tensions-over-political-coverage/" --- # MSNBC-NBC News tensions over political coverage **☀️ 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:** The tension between political coverage on MSNBC and NBC News - **New from Pew Research Center:** Do Americans think it's important that the journalists they get news from share their personal traits? - **In other news:** Biden and Trump agree to presidential debates - **Looking ahead:** The Athletic in talks to unionize - **Chart of the week:** Conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats more likely to prefer journalists who share their politics 🔥 **Featured story** A [New York Times article](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/15/business/media/nbc-msnbc-trump-biden.html) published this week looks at the **tension between cable and network news brands under the NBC umbrella**. While MSNBC has embraced left-leaning content, NBC News is still striving to reach Americans across the political spectrum. We looked at Americans’ levels of [trust in many specific news outlets](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2020/01/24/u-s-media-polarization-and-the-2020-election-a-nation-divided/) during the last presidential election cycle, finding in a [2019 survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2020/01/24/media-polarization-appendix-detailed-tables/) that **Democrats were much more likely than Republicans to say they trust both NBC News and MSNBC for political and election news**. A majority of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (61%) said they trust NBC News, compared with 30% of Republicans and GOP leaners. For MSNBC, 48% of Democrats and 18% of Republicans trusted the network for political news. 🚨 **New from Pew Research Center** A [2023 Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/05/16/more-americans-want-the-journalists-they-get-news-from-to-share-their-politics-than-any-other-personal-trait/) asked Americans how important it is to see their personal characteristics reflected in the journalists and reporters they get news from. Key findings include: - Most Americans say **it is *not* important** that the news they get comes from journalists who share their political views, age, gender or other traits. But more people say it is important for journalists to** share their politics than any other personal trait.** - **Younger Americans** are more likely to want news from journalists who are **similar to them in age**. - Americans who **identify with a religion** are more likely than those who are religiously unaffiliated to find it at least somewhat important to get news from journalists who **share their religious views** (26% vs. 15%). [Read more](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/05/16/more-americans-want-the-journalists-they-get-news-from-to-share-their-politics-than-any-other-personal-trait/) about this analysis. 📌 **In other news** - **Biden **and **Trump **agree to [presidential debates](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-willing-debate-trump-twice/) on CNN and ABC News - Group of **conservative** **consultants **to launch [new Capitol Hill news outlet](https://www.axios.com/2024/05/14/conservative-capitol-hill-news-outlet-washington-reporter) - Longtime CNN executive **Sam Feist **[to become CEO](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/05/14/sam-feist-cspan-ceo-cnn/) of** C-SPAN** - Concerns among **web publishers** as **Google **announces it will [launch AI-generated answers](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/05/13/google-ai-search-io-sge/) in search results - **Croatian journalists** face threats from [far-right party's supporters](https://www.politico.eu/article/novoski-croatia-homeland-movement-party-free-media-crackdown/) - Writers and publishers in **Singapore **[reject government plan](https://restofworld.org/2024/singapore-writers-reject-ai-training/) to train AI model with their work - [Whereabouts unknown](https://apnews.com/article/zhang-zhan-release-whereabouts-covid-citizen-journalist-bcbb8b2adee51bc13a9143706326fb2c) of **Chinese citizen journalist** who reported on COVID-19 📅 **Looking ahead** **Staffers at The Athletic** are [in talks to unionize](https://www.axios.com/2024/05/14/nyt-athletic-union-talks) as the site further integrates with The New York Times. Last year, The Times [cut its sports desk](https://www.nytco.com/press/our-plans-for-sports-journalism/) and announced plans to rely on The Athletic for sports coverage after purchasing the subscription-based publication in 2022. About one-in-six U.S. journalists at news organizations (16%) reported **being in a union** in a [2022 Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/08/04/about-one-in-six-u-s-journalists-at-news-outlets-are-part-of-a-union-many-more-would-join-one-if-they-could/), and another 41% said they **would join one** if it were available to them. Overall, 26% of U.S. journalists employed by a news organization full time or part time said their organization has a union, with those at larger organizations far more likely to say there is a union available to them. 📊 **Chart of the week** This week’s chart of the week comes from a [new Center analysis](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/05/16/more-americans-want-the-journalists-they-get-news-from-to-share-their-politics-than-any-other-personal-trait/) about how important Americans say it is for journalists to share their personal characteristics. Republicans and Democrats are about equally likely to say it is at least somewhat important for the news they get to come from journalists who have the same political views as them. However, **people who place themselves at either end of the ideological spectrum **are more likely than those toward the center **to say journalists’ politics are important**. ![A bar chart showing that liberal Democrats, conservative Republicans most likely to want news from journalists who share their politics.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/SR_24.05.16_shared-traits-journalists_2_2fa431.png) *👋 That's all for this week. * The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Jacob Liedke, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin, Luxuan Wang and Emily Tomasik. It is edited by Katerina Eva Matsa, Michael Lipka and Mark Jurkowitz, and copy edited by Anna Jackson. *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*.