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More people in the United States are tuning in to news about national politics and the actions of Donald Trump than at the same point in the presidency of Joe Biden, a new survey has found. The report, released today by the Pew Research Center, shows that 71 percent of people polled say they are following events around the administration, compared with 66 percent during the early days of the Biden presidency. Notably, the study shows a significant uptick in those who say they are following the news “very closely”: 31 percent, up from 22 percent four years ago.
The results suggest a small reversal of the trend of news avoidance that has plagued media outlets over the past several years, with 40 percent of respondents saying they are paying more attention to the news since Trump took office, compared with just 10 percent who say they are paying less attention.
The data also mirror anecdotal signs that Trump’s relentless slate of dramatic executive actions has caused readers and viewers to engage more intently again with the news. Critical reporting on the administration has brought publications like Wired and The Atlantic new subscribers since the start of the year, while exclusive interviews with Elon Musk and Volodymyr Zelensky have helped Bret Baier’s nightly show on Fox News top the dominant network newscasts.
Unsurprisingly, respondents across the partisan spectrum offer differing reasons for why they are tuning in. Eighty-eight percent of Democrats, and those leaning Democrat, say concern about the administration’s actions is a major factor in why they are following it, compared with just 45 percent of Republicans and those leaning Republican. Fifty-six percent of all Democratic respondents say they find news about the administration “hard to avoid,” versus 31 percent of Republicans.
Of particular concern for the news media is how fewer people in the US appear to be taking note of Trump’s relationship with the press, according to the survey. Since winning reelection, Trump has waged a steady legal campaign against the media, including lawsuits and FCC investigations into critical coverage. Pew found that just 36 percent of US adults surveyed say they have heard a lot about Trump’s relationship with the press this year, compared with 72 percent of respondents at the start of Trump’s first term. About one in five respondents say they’ve heard nothing at all about the relationship, up from 6 percent in 2017.
Republicans and Democrats do seem to largely agree on one thing: 61 percent of Republicans, and 67 percent of Democrats, say the relationship between Trump and the press is bad.
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