The number of Americans who see a great deal of political bias in news coverage has edged up to 37% from 31% four years ago. Republicans continue to express more concern about media bias than do Democrats, but the rise in perceived bias in recent years has occurred across party lines.
About half (49%) of Republicans and 57% of conservative Republicans say there is a great deal of media bias. By comparison, 32% of Democrats and 35% of independents see a great deal of bias in the news. This partisan gap in bias perception existed in the 2008 campaign as well, when 43% of Republicans, 25% of Democrats and 30% of independents thought there was a great deal of bias.
As they have in the past, most Americans (68%) say they prefer to get political news from sources that have no particular political point of view. Just under a quarter (23%) of Americans prefer news from sources that share their point of view. The preference for news that has no particular point of view has been the case since the question was first asked in 2004. Read More