Democrats were overwhelmingly more likely to appear on certain cable news networks than Republicans, a new study found.
CNN and MSNBC are seven times more likely to host Democratic members of Congress than Republican members, according to a study published Monday by the Media Research Center. (RELATED: ‘Dead As A Door Nail:’ Trump Taunts CNN, MSNBC Over Low Ratings)
Analysts from MRC spent 540 hours watching programming from the two networks while Congress was in session, and found that the networks hosted a combined 284 Democratic members of congress compared to just 40 Republican members of Congress. (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez Attacks Republicans Over Swearing-In Stunt)
The study found that MSNBC interviewed 148 Democrats compared to just 11 Republicans, while CNN interviewed 136 Democrats compared to 29 Republicans. The study took place during three randomly-selected weeks (January 7-11, March 25-29 and June 10-14), all of which occurred when Congress was in session.
MRC also claimed that Democrats were treated to friendlier questions by the cable network’s hosts. The study found that 81% of questions asked to Democrats were “based on a friendly Democratic agenda,” while 19% of questions “asked the Democrats to respond to an adversarial/Republican agenda.”
The study bore out similar statistics when it analyzed questions that were asked to Republicans, finding that 97% of questions “reflected an adversarial/Democratic agenda,” while just 2.5% were “based on a friendlier, Republican agenda.”