Many Fox News Viewers Don't Consider It 'Mainstream Media'

A September survey asked Americans whether they think their main source for political news is part of the “mainstream media.”

According to a bar chart showing that among adults who say Fox News is their main source of political news, 28% say it is not ‘mainstream media’.

Across many of the most common sources, large majorities of those who use each source say it is part of the mainstream media. For example, 84% of those who say CNN is their top source of election news say it’s part of the mainstream media, compared with just 5% who say it is not.

A majority of people who list Fox News as their main source say it is part of the mainstream media (61%). But this cable news network has a larger share of users who say that it is not mainstream (28%) than other top news outlets. About one-in-five Americans who name NPR as their main source of political news (19%) also say it is not mainstream media.

A relatively slim majority of Americans who say local TV is their main source of political news (57%) see it as mainstream media, but just 8% say this is not the case. Another 34% of these local TV news consumers say they aren’t sure whether their station is part of the mainstream media.

Overall, among those who listed a main source of political news, six-in-ten say that their source is part of the mainstream media. About a quarter (24%) say it is not mainstream and 16% aren’t sure.

Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say their main source of political news is not mainstream.