With the presidential election around the corner, we surveyed 1,000 Americans to see how their candidate choice shapes their news-consumption habits and sentiments. Spoiler: You might be surprised by just how much you share in common.
What voters agree on in 2024
This presidential election year, American voters tend to agree on a handful of news-consumption habits even if they loathe the other party and its politics.
Staying tuned in to the election
Nearly all Americans have their eyes on the presidential election. In fact, 46% are tracking it “very closely,” while another 37% are following “somewhat closely.” Only 4% of people said they aren’t paying attention at all.
Stress turns up with the election
The upcoming election is taking its toll on Americans’ nerves. According to our survey, 37% of respondents report feeling moderate levels of stress and anxiety, while 24% say their stress is through the roof. Only a slim 9% of respondents claim they aren’t feeling any election-related stress at all.
Americans prefer watching their news over reading it
While social media is a growing source of political news, with 41% of people saying they’re turning to it more than ever this election year, TV still reigns supreme.
A solid 52% of Americans prefer watching TV for their political updates (compared to 37% on their smartphones), and just one in four voters favor social media for their news.
Out of all the social platforms, voters selected Facebook as the most trustworthy news source just six years after the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed the biases of its algorithm and its penchant for favoring misinformation.
According to our survey, 41% of Americans agree that the local news is trustworthy, and local news was the second-most trusted source for both groups—more on that below.
Still, 60% of Americans agree they would rather watch the news than read it but disagree about which sources to watch.
What voters disagree on in 2024
American voters are split on which TV news networks to trust for easy-to-find, unbiased news. Trump voters lean more toward distrusting the media, but overall, both groups have shown an increasing distrust in news media as time goes on.
The news networks voters trust and distrust
Not surprisingly, Trump voters trust Fox News the most, Harris voters trust CNN the most, and both groups distrust the others’ most-trusted source.
- 56% of Trump voters say they trust Fox News as a source, followed by 36% who said local news and 30% who said CNN.
- 48% of Harris voters say they trust CNN, followed by 45% who said local news, and 41% who said ABC.
- 41% of Trump voters don’t trust CNN, while 47% of Harris voters don’t trust Fox News.
(Note: Respondents could select multiple answers so percentages exceed 100)
Local news ranks as the second-most trusted source for both groups, suggesting that a lot of voters trust news more connected to their communities.
How easy it is to find news that isn’t biased
There is a significant gap between voters when it comes to how hard it is to find unbiased news in which Trump voters think it’s harder to find unbiased news compared to Harris voters.
Trump voters on finding unbiased news sources:
- 49% think it’s very hard
- 34% think it’s somewhat hard
- 13% think it’s somewhat easy
- 5% think it’s very easy
Harris voters on finding unbiased news sources:
- 27% think it’s very hard
- 45% think it’s somewhat hard
- 17% think it’s somewhat easy
- 11% it’s very easy
The majority of voters finding it at least somewhat hard to find unbiased news feeds into the overarching sentiment that news media is getting harder to trust. Once again, Trump voters carry this sentiment significantly more than Harris voters.
How the news is getting harder to trust over time
Trump voters feel more strongly that the news is getting harder to trust over time:
- 82% think it’s getting harder to trust
- 11% don’t think it’s changing
- 7% think it’s getting easier to trust
Harris voters feel similarly, but less so:
- 61% think it’s getting harder to trust
- 29% don’t think it’s changing
- 10% think it’s getting easier to trust
This lack of trust and feeling of bias correlates with a significant discrepancy between feeling hopeless and hopeful.
How reading the news makes them feel
- 36% of Trump voters say election-related news makes them feel hopeless, compared to just 23% of Harris voters who feel that way.
- 48% of Harris voters feel hopeful when they see election-related news compared to just 33% of Trump voters who feel that way.
With sizable chunks of the population feeling distrustful and wary of election news, we wanted to see how often voters turn to their comfort shows during elections.
Election stress means making time for comfort TV
One thing the vast majority of Americans can agree on is that we need to tune-out every now and then.
- 85% of respondents agree that watching TV is a good way to escape the stress and anxiety of life.
- For those who have noticed their viewership habits changing as a result of the upcoming election, 32% say they’re spending less time watching entertainment content because they’re watching more political content.
Politics and entertainment often overlap, and election years can boost politically themed shows. For example, Veep viewership spiked after Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris.
Still, our survey respondents said they watch certain types of shows to escape the stress of the election:
- 38% choose comedies/sitcoms
- 22% choose horror/thrillers
- 21% choose dramas
- 20% choose reality TV
- 18% choose documentaries
To combat the fatigue of the elections’ seriousness, both blue and red voting groups ended up choosing the comedic relief of sitcoms as their favorite comfort shows.
Trump voters vs. Harris voters when it comes to comfort shows
Despite Trump voters feeling more hopeless and distrusting of the news than Harris voters, they tend to lean less toward finding comfort in other TV and media.
- Just 41% of Trump voters say they have a comfort show they watch to escape election stress, compared to the 51% of Harris voters who have one.
- When it comes to comfort show picks, Trump voters most commonly answered “Friends” and Harris voters’ top answer was “The Big Bang Theory.”
As election season heats up, TV remains the top choice for news, with social media gaining ground. While stress levels rise, many voters turn to comfort TV shows, though they’re watching less entertainment as political coverage takes over.
Red or blue, we’ll be there for you (if you’re there for us, too). No crazy roommate agreements required.
And if you need some relief during this election season, check out some of our favorite ways to stay informed and entertained:
Methodology
We conducted a survey of 1,000 people via Pollfish on August 19, 2024. Results were post-stratified to accurately represent the population.
