Contrary to the popular maxim that the party in power tends to be more satisfied with the media, just 21 percent of Trump supporters subscribe to that view. Conversely, non-Republicans hold the media in much higher esteem.
The comprehensive study reveals a vast disparity in how Americans on both sides of the political aisle view the way their media is performing.
For Trump supporters, an unmistakable negative attitude among respondents prevails. According to the Pew Research Center, that is an uncharacteristic attitude among backers of the ruling party because "in most cases, those who identify with the party in charge tend to be more sanguine about the news media."
The survey revealed that just 21 percent of pro-Trump Americans believe the media is unbiased in its handling of news reporting. However, it also found that just 55 percent of Americans who are not Trump supporters also say the American media is not fairly covering US politics.
Among Americans who identify with the Republican Party but do not support Donald Trump, the number is only slightly better at 24 percent.
Meanwhile, among Americans who are not affiliated with the Republican Party, a whopping 58 percent reported satisfaction with the media, a hefty 34-percent difference from Republicans.
“The US is also one of only a few countries where governing party supporters are less satisfied with their news media than are non-supporters. In most countries, people who support the political party currently in power are more satisfied with the performance of their news media than those who do not support the governing party,” said the study.
In one particular statistic that looks at global opinion across the board with regards to bias in the media, just 20 percent said it is sometimes acceptable for a news organization to favor one political party over others when reporting the news; 75 percent said it is never acceptable.
Europeans demonstrate the greatest opposition to political bias in their media, including 89 percent in Spain and 88 percent in Greece who think this is unacceptable.
In the United States, 78 percent of respondents say the news media should never favor one political party over another.
In only five countries do at least three-in-ten believe it is okay to favor one side, the study revealed.
In response to the question as to how well news organizations are performing in reporting the different positions on political issues fairly, 44 percent of global respondents said ‘Not well;’ 52 percent responded ‘Well.’