Which polling firms and methodologies tracked trust in Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, and how do their results differ?
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Executive summary
Multiple national polls and media surveys tracked trust in CNN, MSNBC and Fox News in 2025 and they show sharp partisan splits: YouGov found net trust gaps of roughly +80 points (CNN, Democrats over Republicans) and +77 points (MSNBC) while Fox News favored Republicans by about +76 points [1]. Pew’s reporting showed 56% of Republicans trusted Fox News and 64% of Democrats distrusted it, while 58% of Democrats trusted CNN and a comparable share of Republicans distrusted CNN [2].
1. Who measured trust — the main pollsters and projects
YouGov published a 2025 “Trust in Media” study widely cited in news reports and aggregations and is the primary source for the large partisan net‑trust gaps cited above [1]. Pew Research Center produced its own public accounting of partisan trust patterns in 2025 and reported percentages of Republicans and Democrats who trust or distrust individual networks, including Fox News and CNN [2]. Emerson College Polling surveyed media consumption and some trust measures in spring 2025 and reported relative shares who use Fox and CNN/MSNBC as news sources [3]. RealClearPolling and other aggregators published summaries and comparative rankings that note smaller net scores for explicitly partisan brands including the three cable networks [4].
2. Methodological approaches differ — panels, sample frames and question framing
YouGov’s trust figures are described in news writeups as “net trust” measures (trust minus distrust) across a sample of Americans; reporting emphasizes partisan subgroup comparisons to produce the +/- point gaps [1]. Pew uses a standard survey reporting trust/distrust percentages for Republicans and Democrats and highlights the share of each party that trusts a given outlet [2]. Emerson’s national media poll asked respondents about “main sources” and trust in information broadly, which mixes use and trust metrics and can yield different signals than a direct trust question [3]. RealClearPolling presents aggregated or standalone scores and emphasizes year‑over‑year shifts, which reflects different sample timing and weighting choices [4].
3. How the headline results differ — net gaps vs. percent trusting
YouGov’s headline is about net trust gaps of roughly 76–80 points between partisan groups for the three networks, a contrast created by subtracting distrust from trust within subgroups [1]. Pew reports absolute shares: 56% of Republicans trusted Fox News while 64% of Democrats distrusted it; 58% of Democrats trusted CNN and a similar share of Republicans distrust CNN — these are complementary but different presentations of the same polarization [2]. Emerson’s findings emphasize which outlets are used as main news sources (Fox 8% vs. CNN/MSNBC 6%) rather than producing large net‑trust gap numbers [3]. RealClearPolling framed results around net scores and year‑to‑year movement (for example, noting a 10‑point increase for Fox to net 0 in one report), which can make perceptions of change appear larger or smaller depending on baseline [4].
4. Why numbers diverge — timing, question wording and audience
Differences result from when the survey was fielded, exact question wording (net trust vs. percent who trust vs. main source), sample composition and weighting (national adult sample, registered voters, or partisan subgroup focus). YouGov’s net‑trust framing magnifies partisan contrasts in a single summary statistic [1]. Pew’s separate trust/distrust percentages show the underlying splits without collapsing them, and Emerson’s focus on “main sources” measures exposure more than affect [2] [3]. Aggregators like RealClearPolling combine or reframe results to emphasize trends, which changes headline takeaways [4].
5. Competing interpretations and implicit agendas to watch
Polls that headline “Fox has +76 advantage among Republicans” or “CNN is +80 among Democrats” can be used to argue either that audiences self‑segregate or that networks are successful at serving partisan bases; both interpretations are supported by the same numbers. Newsrooms, networks and political actors selectively cite the poll or metric that best supports their narrative — for instance, outlets focused on reach and ratings will cite Emerson or Nielsen viewership while partisan actors quote net‑trust gaps. RealClearPolling’s presentation of modest net scores for “partisan brands” (0 to +10) suggests a different framing: that some surveys show stabilization or modest recovery in overall trust, not runaway distrust [4].
6. What the available sources do not say (limitations)
Available sources do not mention uniform methodological details across polls (field dates, sample sizes and exact question text) in the search excerpts provided here; they also do not provide a single, harmonized dataset that reconciles net‑trust and percent‑trust formats (not found in current reporting). They do not offer causal evidence about whether coverage drives trust or pre‑existing partisanship drives outlet selection — only cross‑sectional associations are reported (not found in current reporting).
7. Bottom line for readers
Multiple reputable pollsters measured trust in 2025 and all show deep partisan sorting around CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, but headline differences stem from how trust is measured (net trust vs. percent who trust vs. primary news source), sample framing and timing [1] [2] [3] [4]. Treat any single percentage or net score as one piece of evidence; compare exact question wording and subgroup breakdowns before drawing policy or political conclusions.