US

Only 5 Percent Of Americans Trust MSNBC

Brendan Bordelon Contributor
Font Size:

A new study on the American public’s immigration views contained an inconvenient factoid likely overlooked in the left’s excitement over majority support for immigration reform: just five percent of those surveyed view MSNBC as a trusted news source.

The center-left Brookings Institution commissioned a survey of 1,538 adults, controlling for national party affiliation and other factors to ensure a representative sample.

“Which of the following television news sources do you trust the most to provide accurate information about politics and current events?” the study asked, offering the six most-common news sources in the U.S. today.

Twenty-five percent — one in four Americans — chose Fox News, followed by broadcast news at 23, CNN at 17, public television at 12, Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” at 7 and liberal cable network MSNBC at a paltry 5 percent.

The report found that which news source one trusts goes a long way to predicting one’s opinion on comprehensive immigration reform — particularly whether to grant amnesty and citizenship to illegal immigrants. Those few who trust MSNBC are 1.4 times more likely to support these ideas, while Fox viewers are only 0.6 times as likely as the average American.

Additionally, the study notes that self-identified conservatives and Republicans overwhelmingly trust Fox News over any other sources, while self-identified liberals and Democrats spread their support to a broader variety of media outlets.

That means that even among liberals, MSNBC is far from the most valued network for news.

The study’s findings are particularly embarrassing given that E.J. Dionne, a liberal Washington Post columnist and frequent talking head on MSNBC programs like “Politics Nation with Al Sharpton,” co-authored the report.

Follow Brendan on Twitter