Journalists Are Hooked On Polls And They’ll Stay That Way
Jack Shafer: The polls might be wrong sometimes but the solution isn’t doing away with them, just more transparency about their limits.
A new national poll from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) published on Monday shows that 31% of Americans believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump. That figure includes an overwhelming 82% of Americans who trust Fox News more than any other media outlet, 97% of those who trust One America News Network and Newsmax, and two-thirds of Republicans generally.
A Harvard Institute of Politics poll finds that while 18-29-year-olds are wary of all news sources, they’re still giving local TV stations a chance. About one-third (33%) turn to local TV news, while 30% use Facebook and 27% tune into CNN. A little less than a third (27%) scroll through Instagram to stay informed.
