Three-Fourths of Americans see celeb gossip/scandal stories as over-covered in U.S. news media today, while strong percentages see meatier topics such as humanitarian issues, education, science, and political and corporate corruption as under-covered
One might expect that today's 24-hour news cycle should have room for everything. When the news never stops coming, it stands to reason that there's sufficient bandwidth to leave no topical stone unturned... in theory. But of course, that doesn't mean that every sort of story gets the same level of coverage. When provided with several types of news stories and asked which are under-, over-, or appropriately covered, three-fourths of U.S. adults (76%) say celebrity gossip/scandal stories are over-covered, while half (49%) say the same about general entertainment news and 44% believe sports news gets too much coverage. And perhaps the midterms are to blame, but a third of Americans (33%) feel U.S. elections are over-covered in U.S. news media.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,537 U.S. adults surveyed online between August 13 and 18, 2014. (Full results, including data tables, available here)
Looking at the other end of the coverage spectrum, nearly half of Americans feel humanitarian issues in the U.S. (47%) and education (also 47%) are under-covered. Over four in ten also identify science (45%), government corruption/political scandals (44%), and corporate corruption/white collar crime (42%), while a third say the same of global/international humanitarian issues (33%) and three in ten feel health (30%) stories are under-represented.
Generational and gender differences
Matures are more likely than their younger counterparts (and Millennials are less likely than any of their elders) to call out news related to celebrity gossip/scandals as over covered (88% Matures, 79% Baby Boomers, 76% Gen Xers, 68% Millennials).
Matures are also more likely than other generations to see sports as over-covered (56% Matures, 46% Baby Boomers, 42% Gen Xers, 38% Millennials), along with being the cohort most likely to see government corruption/political scandals (59%, 46%, 41% and 37%) and corporate corruption/white collar crime (50%, 41%, 39% and 41%) as under-covered.
Millennials, meanwhile, are less likely than older generations to view general U.S. politics as over-covered (20% Millennials, 30% Gen Xers, 27% Baby Boomers, 35% Matures), but more likely than their elders to see an array of international issues as under-covered:
Global/International humanitarian issues (40% Millennials, 32% Gen Xers, 28% Baby Boomers, 27% Matures);
International elections (34%, 23%, 20% and 18%); and
General international politics (31%, 23%, 20% and 20%).
Looking across gender lines, men are more likely to see science news as under-covered (49% Men vs. 40% women), while women are more likely to identify sports as over-covered (49% women vs. 38% men).
Political perspectives
Independents and Democrats are both more likely than Republicans to identify several topics as under-covered, including humanitarian issues in the U.S. (53% Ind, 49% Dem, 39% Rep), education (52%, 50% and 38%), science (53%, 45% and 36%), corporate corruption/white collar crime (47%, 46% and 32%), health (34%, 32% and 22%), and general international politics (27%, 26% and 19%).
As to what's over-covered, Independents are more likely than members of either party to feel general U.S. politics get more than their fair share of attention (31% Ind, 24% Dem, 25% Rep). Republicans, meanwhile, are more likely than either Democrats or Independents to see humanitarian issues on both a global/international level (19% Rep, 12% Dem, 14% Ind) and in the U.S. (11%, 5% and 6%) as over-covered.
The blame game
So, who is seen as the top offender in over-covering certain types of news? And where are you most likely to find some topics under-represented? According to Americans, it's on TV. Network TV news and cable TV news (38% each) are seen as the top offenders when it comes to over-covering some stories. Network TV news is also the news mode singled out the most as under-reporting some stories (34%), followed by cable (25%) and local (24%) TV news.
Trust is high, but there's room to improve
Under- and over-covered stories aside, it's important to note that majorities of Americans trust news media outlets across a broad range of mediums. Local TV news (78%), local newspapers (76%), and radio (73%) are the modes most likely to be trusted, but even the bottom of the range – online-only news sites (61%) – are trusted by the majority of U.S. adults.
That's not to say there's nothing they would change. Nine in ten Americans say news in the U.S. should involve more reporting and fewer "talking heads" (89%).
In other news
As to the importance of an impartial press, over eight in ten (84%) feel it's essential that journalists be completely unbiased.
Looking at where Americans get their news, 82% prefer to seek out news in multiple places, while 36% get most of their news all in one place.
