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How has public trust in cable news networks changed since 2020 and why?
Executive summary
Public trust in specific cable news outlets has become more polarized since 2020: audience ratings and market share show Fox News regaining and expanding its lead in total viewers through 2024–2025, while CNN and MSNBC have seen more volatile viewership trends tied to news cycles (e.g., election periods) and programming changes [1] [2] [3]. Quantitative public-opinion trust metrics are sparsely covered in the provided material — one Statista snapshot notes Fox News ranked low on perceived trust in 2023 — but most available reporting focuses on ratings and audience behavior rather than broad, repeated trust surveys [4] [5].
1. Ratings growth and trust are not the same thing — ratings show audience shifts, not universal trust
Cable-news reporting in 2024–2025 shows Fox News dominating total viewers and achieving some of its highest-rated quarters and months (Fox News averaged 3.012 million primetime viewers in Q1 2025 and had its second-highest Q2 2025 in network history) — data that news outlets treat as evidence of influence and audience loyalty, but not a direct measure of “trust” across the population [1] [2]. Analysts and trade outlets in the dataset link these viewership gains to major political events (for example, Trump’s return to the White House and the 2024 election) rather than to a single trust metric [6] [3].
2. Fox News: bigger audiences, contested credibility in surveys
Trade reporting documents that Fox News was the most-watched cable-news network across multiple 2025 quarters and months, topping primetime totals and sometimes surpassing broadcast networks [2] [7]. At the same time, a Statista item in the collection indicates Fox News was listed as “the least trusted news outlet overall” in an April 2023 snapshot, highlighting a tension between high viewership and negative trust perceptions in at least some surveys [4]. The sources thus present two consistent but distinct facts: large audiences [1] [2] and significant distrust reported in at least one poll [4].
3. CNN and MSNBC: audience volatility, trust context is limited in these sources
The materials show CNN and MSNBC experienced sharper swings: both saw post-election tune-outs after the 2024 cycle and variable rebounds tied to programming and major events [3]. Adweek data from 2025 shows CNN’s primetime audience was smaller than Fox’s [2], and Deadline notes MSNBC and CNN had post-election drops as the news cycle cooled [3]. The present dataset does not include repeated, representative trust-trend polling for these networks, so claims about national-level trust declines or recoveries for CNN/MSNBC beyond their ratings performance are not found in current reporting (not found in current reporting).
4. Events and programming choices drive short-term trust and long-term perception
Sources repeatedly link audience fluctuations to events (inauguration, election nights) and programming shifts (hosts changing schedules), which in turn affect perceived relevance and, implicitly, trust among different viewer segments [6] [8]. For example, Rachel Maddow’s reduced schedule is cited as a key factor in MSNBC’s primetime declines during Q3 2025; likewise, election coverage and Trump-centric news cycles boosted ratings across networks [8] [6]. The provided items treat these causal links as audience-response explanations rather than as definitive measures of a long-term change in “public trust” across the entire populace [6] [3].
5. Alternative viewpoints and possible hidden agendas in coverage
Trade outlets (Adweek, Deadline, TVNewser) emphasize ratings because their audiences and advertisers focus on viewership; that framing can understate broader opinion research about trust [2] [3] [1]. Statista’s trust snapshot centers on perceived trustworthiness in 2023 and highlights Fox News’ low trust ratings — that source may reflect survey design and respondent pools that differ from raw viewership reporting [4]. Some non-editorial aggregator pages in the dataset present partisan commentary alongside ratings tables [9], which hints at editorial or audience agendas that mix viewership pride with political messaging; those pages cannot substitute for neutral survey data on trust.
6. What’s missing and how to interpret the evidence
Available sources primarily report ratings, with limited public-opinion polling of trust across time; the single Statista note provides one data point about trust in 2023 but not a longitudinal series from 2020 to 2025 [4]. Therefore, definitive statements about “how public trust in cable news networks changed since 2020” across the whole U.S. population are not fully supported by the provided material — we can say audiences shifted (Fox’s ratings gains, CNN/MSNBC volatility) and at least one 2023 poll reported low trust for Fox News, but broader, repeated trust-trend polling is not present in these sources (not found in current reporting; [1]; [2]; p1_s1).
If you want, I can: (a) look specifically for longitudinal trust polls (e.g., Gallup, Pew) in your next search; or (b) map ratings changes against any available trust surveys to produce a side-by-side timeline — tell me which you prefer.