57% Say Reporters Try to Help Candidates They Want to Win

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• In August 2024, Napolitan News surveyed registered voters to learn whether they think political reporters are biased.
  • More than half (57%) said political reporters try to help the candidates they want to win.
  • Just 32% said the reporters try to present fair and unbiased news coverage.
  • A plurality of Democrats voters (45%) said that reporters try to be fair and unbiased.
  • A majority of Republicans (65%) said political reporters try to help the candidates they want to win.
• If a reporter uncovered some information that was harmful to his or her preferred candidate, 47% of voters thought the reporter would hide the information to protect the preferred candidate.
  • Thirty-seven percent (37%) said the reporter would report the information honestly.
  • Sixteen percent (16%) were Not Sure.
  • Democrats had more faith in reporters as they said the reporter would report honestly by a margin of 50% to 30%.
  • Conversely, by a 61% to 29% margin, Republicans said the reporter would hide the information to protect the candidate.
• Back in August 2024, when Kamala Harris was running against Donald Trump, 56% of voters said that most journalists would want Harris to win.
  • One in 5 voters (19%) thought most journalists would want Trump to win.
  • Only 9% of Democrats thought journalists would want Trump to win, but 32% of Republicans thought the same.
  • A majority of Democrats (54%) and Republicans (60%) agreed that most journalists would want Harris to win.

This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, August 21-22, 2024. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.