November 1, 2017 9:23AM # 63% of Republicans Say Journalists Are an “Enemy of the American People” By [Emily Ekins](https://www.cato.org/people/emily-ekins) --- SHARE ![Media Name: 1-cover_free_speech_copy.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/right-homepage-images/survey-report-free-speech-cover.jpg?itok=CF2f54Xk) Early in his presidential tenure, Donald Trump [tweeted](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/17/business/trump-calls-the-news-media-the-enemy-of-the-people.html) that the national news media is “fake news” and that it is an enemy of the American people. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Americans do not agree with President Trump that journalists today are an “enemy of the American people,” finds the [Cato 2017 Free Speech and Tolerance Survey](https://www.cato.org/survey-reports/state-free-speech-tolerance-america). Thirty-five percent (35%) side with the president. However, nearly two-thirds (63%) of Republicans agree that journalists are an enemy of the American people. Such a charge is highly polarizing: 89% of Democrats and 61% of independents do *not* think journalists are the enemy. ![Media Name: 70_media1a_b.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/70_media1.jpg?itok=-A9CJz2u) **52% of Democrats Say Media Is Doing a Good Job Holding Government Accountable** While Republicans stand out with their negative view of the media, Democrats have uniquely positive evaluations of it. A slim majority (52%) of Democrats say the national news media is doing a good or even an excellent job “holding government accountable.” In contrast, only 24% of independents and 16% of Republicans agree. *[Full survey results and report found here.](https://www.cato.org/survey-reports/state-free-speech-tolerance-america)* ![Media Name: 73_media4_b.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/images/free-speech-survey/report/free-speech-survey-report-main-73.jpg?itok=vQh4EYcW) Among all Americans, only a third (33%) agree the news media is doing its job holding government accountable. More than two-thirds (67%) say it is not. The more a person identifies as liberal, the more likely they are to say the media is doing a good job. Among strong liberals, 59% say the national news media is doing a good or excellent job holding government accountable. In contrast, 87% of strong conservatives say it’s doing a poor or fair job. **Most Americans Perceive Media Bias** Why do Republicans lack confidence in the national news media while Democrats view it positively? Perhaps because most Americans perceive a liberal bias among most major news organizations.[\[1\]](//F283666B-8A45-40DC-88A6-41772DA27C9D#_ftn1) ![Media Name: 74_mediabias_b.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/images/free-speech-survey/overview/free-speech-suvery-overview-15.jpg?itok=6M0xF25t) Fifty-two percent (52%) of respondents say that the *New York Times* allows a liberal bias to color its reporting. Fifty percent (50%) feel CNN also succumbs to a liberal media bias. Fifty-nine percent (59%) say that MSNBC also has a liberal bias. Of all the top news organizations included on the survey, only Fox News was perceived to have a conservative bias (56%). Americans feel their local news stations and broadcast news channels do a better job than cable news in providing balanced reporting. A majority (54%) say their local news station is balanced, without a liberal or a conservative bias. A plurality (42%) also believe that CBS is balanced. Nevertheless, respondents were four times as likely to say CBS has a liberal bias than a conservative bias (40% vs. 10%), and almost twice as likely to say their local station has a liberal bias (23% vs. 14%). **Democrats Believe Media Is Balanced; Republicans See Liberal Bias** Majorities of Democrats believe most major news organizations are balanced in their reporting, including CBS (72%), CNN (55%), the *New York Times* (55%), as well as their local news station (67%). A plurality (44%) also believe the *Wall Street Journal* is balanced. The two exceptions are that a plurality (47%) believe MSNBC has a liberal bias (37% believe it’s unbiased) and a strong majority (71%) say Fox has a conservative bias. Republicans, on the other hand, see things differently. Overwhelming majorities believe liberal bias colors reporting at the *New York Times* (80%), CNN (81%), CBS (73%), and MSNBC (80%). A plurality also feel the *Wall Street Journal* (48%) has a liberal tilt. Only when evaluating their local TV news station do most Republicans—but not a majority—perceive balanced reporting (42%). Similar to Democrats’ perceptions of MSNBC, a plurality of Republicans (44%) believe Fox News has a conservative bias; 41% believe it provides unbiased reporting. ![Media Name: 75_mediabias2_b.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/images/free-speech-survey/overview/free-speech-suvery-overview-16.jpg?itok=j59JEA6I) The news outlets that Republicans find most objective are their local news station (42%), Fox (41%), and the *Wall Street Journal* (28%). The media organizations Democrats find most objective include CBS (72%), their local news station (67%), CNN (55%), and the *New York Times* (55%). **70% Say Government Should Not Be Able to Shut Down News Stories** Despite Democrats and Republicans’ different perceptions of news media, they agree that government should not shut down news stories—even if biased or inaccurate. Strong majorities of Republicans (63%), independents (71%), and Democrats (76%) agree that “government should not be able to stop a news media outlet from publishing a story that government officials say is biased or inaccurate.” ![Media Name: 72_media3_b.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/images/free-speech-survey/report/free-speech-survey-report-main-72.jpg?itok=TSCCXygB) Among all Americans, 70% say government should not shut down news stories regardless of whether officials think the story is inaccurate. A little more than a quarter (29%) think government should have the authority to stifle stories authorities say are inaccurate or biased. *[Full survey results and report found here.](https://www.cato.org/survey-reports/state-free-speech-tolerance-america)* *[Sign up here to receive forthcoming Cato Institute](https://www.cato.org/project-public-opinion)[ survey reports](https://www.cato.org/project-public-opinion)* *The Cato Institute 2017 Free Speech and Tolerance Survey was designed and conducted by the Cato Institute in collaboration with YouGov. YouGov collected responses online August 15–23, 2017 from a national sample of 2,300 Americans 18 years of age and older. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 3.00 percentage points at the 95% level of confidence.* [\[1\]](//F283666B-8A45-40DC-88A6-41772DA27C9D#_ftnref1) Percentages in this section have been calculated among Americans with an opinion of the news source. The following were not familiar with each of these news sources: CNN: 16%, Fox: 13%, MSNBC: 22%, CBS: 19%, Local TV News Station: 18%, *New York Times*: 24%, *Wall Street Journal*: 29%. ##### Related Tags [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Technology and Privacy](https://www.cato.org/technology-privacy), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies), [Center for Representative Government](https://www.cato.org/center-representative-government), [Public Opinion](https://www.cato.org/public-opinion) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).