Partisan media bias is a well-documented phenomenon and one of particular concern due to the polarization of the mainstream media. According to researchers in media polarization, there is no consensus on which news source is considered the most trustworthy.
Understanding how partisan media bias may affect news coverage is particularly relevant because there is an overwhelming concentration of viewership and trust towards one source, Fox News, for Republicans while Democrats have a high level of trust in multiple sources outside of their top source, CNN.
At a high level, our analysis supports current research efforts on partisan media bias. Right-leaning sources mentioned topics like Trump’s impeachment in a slightly more negative way than left-leaning sources. They also reported on topics about national security (including actions against Capitol Hill Rioters) more negatively than their left-leaning counterparts.
The magnitude of this problem is highlighted in the chart above. In regards to Trump’s impeachment, left-leaning sources mentioned this topic more often compared to their right-leaning counterparts. However, after the formal delivery of charges in a Democrat-controlled Congress on January 25th, 2021, right-leaning sources began to mention Trump’s impeachment at increasingly higher percentages and generally with more negative sentiment towards the impeachment trials. Additionally, right-leaning sources such as Fox News often had more opinion pieces in the headlines with polarizing remarks, as shown below.