Pew Research conducted a poll with Americans in Mid-March to get a clearer view of what they consider ‘mainstream media’. A sample pool of 12,045 U.S. adults chose 13 outlets they feel fit the bill.
The research showed 70-percent of people surveyed recognize all four major news networks as mainstream media. Voters also placed The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in that group.
“Notably, while the term’ mainstream media’ has been used in many partisan contexts, there is wide agreement between Republicans and Democrats about whether the outlets in the survey are part of the mainstream news media or not,” the study’s authors wrote.
“Three-quarters of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents see Fox News as part of the mainstream media. 72% of Democrats and Democratic leaners do too.”
Not every media outlet made the cut into the mainstream category. 37 percent said HuffPost is “mainstream media.” Another 20 percent said something similar about BuzzFeed. 22 percent felt that way about Sean Hannity’s radio show.
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
