What the numbers say: Numbers represent MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN live viewership only during the prime news time slot, which airs from 8 to 11 p.m. In 2020, a year that included a global pandemic and a U.S. presidential election, news audiences increased for the three major cable news channels. Other news sectors also saw audience growth, including Newsmax, a relatively smaller cable news channel that gained prominence during the 2020 election, with an average audience of 115,000 in 2020. Relevance: More than 50% of respondents to a survey held in early 2020 believed there was a fair amount or a great deal of bias in the news sources they often used. Fox News is currently the subject of a $1.6B defamation lawsuit, alleging it deliberately pushed false claims about Dominion Voting Systems and its role in the 2020 presidential election. Who should care: This is something that everyone should care about, as they rely on the news media to provide accurate information about the world. The quality of the information that people are consuming and the quality of information that people have access to are essential for a healthy democracy. |
