Lots of Sizzle, Not Enough Steak in U.S. News Media

NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- One might expect that today's 24-hour news cycle should have room for everything. When the news never stops coming, it stands to reason that there's sufficient bandwidth to leave no topical stone unturned... in theory. But of course, that doesn't mean that every sort of story gets the same level of coverage. When provided with several types of news stories and asked which are under-, over-, or appropriately covered, three-fourths of U.S. adults (76%) say celebrity gossip/scandal stories are over-covered, while half (49%) say the same about general entertainment news and 44% believe sports news gets too much coverage. And perhaps the midterms are to blame, but a third of Americans (33%) feel U.S. elections are over-covered in U.S. news media.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,537 U.S. adults surveyed online between August 13 and 18, 2014. (Full results, including data tables, available here)

Looking at the other end of the coverage spectrum, nearly half of Americans feel humanitarian issues in the U.S. (47%) and education (also 47%) are under-covered. Over four in ten also identify science (45%), government corruption/political scandals (44%), and corporate corruption/white collar crime (42%), while a third say the same of global/international humanitarian issues (33%) and three in ten feel health (30%) stories are under-represented.

Generational and gender differences 
Matures are more likely than their younger counterparts (and Millennials are less likely than any of their elders) to call out news related to celebrity gossip/scandals as over covered (88% Matures, 79% Baby Boomers, 76% Gen Xers, 68% Millennials).

Matures are also more likely than other generations to see sports as over-covered (56% Matures, 46% Baby Boomers, 42% Gen Xers, 38% Millennials), along with being the cohort most likely to see government corruption/political scandals (59%, 46%, 41% and 37%) and corporate corruption/white collar crime (50%, 41%, 39% and 41%) as under-covered.

Millennials, meanwhile, are less likely than older generations to view general U.S. politics as over-covered (20% Millennials, 30% Gen Xers, 27% Baby Boomers, 35% Matures), but more likely than their elders to see an array of international issues as under-covered:

• Global/International humanitarian issues (40% Millennials, 32% Gen Xers, 28% Baby Boomers, 27% Matures);
• International elections (34%, 23%, 20% and 18%); and
• General international politics (31%, 23%, 20% and 20%).

Looking across gender lines, men are more likely to see science news as under-covered (49% Men vs. 40% women), while women are more likely to identify sports as over-covered (49% women vs. 38% men).

Political perspectives 
Independents and Democrats are both more likely than Republicans to identify several topics as under-covered, including humanitarian issues in the U.S. (53% Ind, 49% Dem, 39% Rep), education (52%, 50% and 38%), science (53%, 45% and 36%), corporate corruption/white collar crime (47%, 46% and 32%), health (34%, 32% and 22%), and general international politics (27%, 26% and 19%).

As to what's over-covered, Independents are more likely than members of either party to feel general U.S. politics get more than their fair share of attention (31% Ind, 24% Dem, 25% Rep). Republicans, meanwhile, are more likely than either Democrats or Independents to see humanitarian issues on both a global/international level (19% Rep, 12% Dem, 14% Ind) and in the U.S. (11%, 5% and 6%) as over-covered.

The blame game 
So, who is seen as the top offender in over-covering certain types of news? And where are you most likely to find some topics under-represented? According to Americans, it's on TV. Network TV news and cable TV news (38% each) are seen as the top offenders when it comes to over-covering some stories. Network TV news is also the news mode singled out the most as under-reporting some stories (34%), followed by cable (25%) and local (24%) TV news.

Trust is high, but there's room to improve 
Under- and over-covered stories aside, it's important to note that majorities of Americans trust news media outlets across a broad range of mediums. Local TV news (78%), local newspapers (76%), and radio (73%) are the modes most likely to be trusted, but even the bottom of the range – online-only news sites (61%) – are trusted by the majority of U.S. adults.

That's not to say there's nothing they would change. Nine in ten Americans say news in the U.S. should involve more reporting and fewer "talking heads" (89%).

In other news 
As to the importance of an impartial press, over eight in ten (84%) feel it's essential that journalists be completely unbiased.

Looking at where Americans get their news, 82% prefer to seek out news in multiple places, while 36% get most of their news all in one place. 

To see other recent Harris Polls, please visit the Harris Poll News Room.  

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Methodology 
This Harris Poll was conducted online, in English, within the United States between August 13 and 18, 2014 among 2,537 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, The Harris Poll avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in our panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of The Harris Poll.

Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

The Harris Poll^® #95, October 21, 2014 
By Larry Shannon-Missal, Managing Editor, The Harris Poll

About The Harris Poll®  
Begun in 1963, The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys measuring public opinion in the U.S. and is highly regarded throughout the world. The nationally representative polls, conducted primarily online, measure the knowledge, opinions, behaviors and motivations of the general public. New and trended polls on a wide variety of subjects including politics, the economy, healthcare, foreign affairs, science and technology, sports and entertainment, and lifestyles are published weekly. For more information, or to see other recent polls, visit the Harris Poll News Room.

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SOURCE The Harris Poll

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