Opinion on political bias in news U.S. 2022, by political affiliation

According to a survey conducted in the United States in summer 2022, 79 percent of Republican respondents felt that news coverage had a great deal of political bias, making these voters the most likely to hold this opinion of the news media. Independents also felt strongly about this issue, whereas only 33 percent of Democrats said they saw a great deal of political bias in news. How politics affects news consumption Political bias in news can alienate consumers and may also be poorly received when coverage of a non-political topic leans too heavily towards one end of the spectrum. However, at the same time, personal politics in general are often closely interlinked with how a consumer perceives or engages with news and information. A clear example of this can be found when looking at political news sources used weekly in the U.S., with Republicans and Democrats opting for the national networks they most identify with. But what if audiences cannot find the content they want? A change in behavior Engaging with news aligning with one’s politics is not uncommon. That said, perceived bias in mainstream media may lead some consumers to look elsewhere and turn away from more “neutral” outlets if they believe the news is no longer partisan. Data shows that a number of leading conservative websites registered a substantial increase in visitors year over year. Looking at this data in context of Republicans’ concern about bias in political news, it is likely that this trend will continue and consumers will pursue outlets they feel resonate with them most.

根据2022年夏季在美国进行的一项调查，79%的共和党受访者认为新闻报道存在大量政治偏见，这使得他们成为最有可能持有这种观点的新闻媒体消费者。无党派人士也对这一问题有强烈的看法，而只有33%的民主党受访者表示他们看到了大量政治偏见。政治如何影响新闻消费：新闻中的政治偏见可能使消费者产生疏离感，而当非政治话题的报道过分偏向某一端时，也可能遭到不良反响。然而，与此同时，个人的政治立场通常与消费者对新闻和信息感知或互动的方式密切相关。这一现象的明显例证可以通过审视美国每周使用的政治新闻来源来发现，共和党和民主党人倾向于选择与他们最为认同的全国性网络。但若受众无法找到他们想要的内容，行为的变化便随之而来。与符合自身政治立场的新闻互动并不少见。尽管如此，主流媒体中感知到的偏见可能导致一些消费者转向其他地方，并远离那些他们认为已不再具有党派性的“中立”媒体。数据显示，一些领先的保守派网站在年度访问量上实现了显著增长。将这一数据置于共和党人对政治新闻偏见关注的背景下，这一趋势很可能将持续，消费者将寻求与他们产生强烈共鸣的媒体。