American Media Preferences Reveal a Deep Political Divide
SAN FRANCISCO — May 21, 2019 — Bospar, the boutique PR firm that puts tech companies on the map, announced today the results of its latest consumer survey, this time turning an eye on Americans’ favorite news media sources and personalities.
The survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and up, conducted online by Propeller Insights on behalf of Bospar, found that about a quarter (24%) of Americans — including 32% of Democrats and 25% of Republicans — chose Lester Holt as the most popular nightly network news host. This was followed by David Muir (14%) and Jeff Glor (9%).
America’s favorite morning show hosts are:
- Michael Strahan
- Al Roker
- Robin Roberts
- Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie and George Stephanopoulis (tie)
- Norah O’Donnell and John Dickerson (tie)
Surprisingly, this ranking wasn’t affected by the political affiliations of the survey takers.
America’s favorite cable TV news reporters are:
- CNN’s Anderson Cooper
- MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow
- Sean Hannity and Brett Baier (tie)
- Tucker Carlson
- Erin Burnett
Of course, here there were differences based on political affiliation: Anderson Cooper got almost three times as many votes from Democrats (32%) as Republicans (13%), as did Maddow (15% from Democrats and 6% from Republicans). Meanwhile, Hannity, Baier and Carlson all got significantly more votes from Republicans than Democrats.
“As consumers, we all have our favorite news media sources and personalities,” said Curtis Sparrer, principal at Bospar. “As PR professionals, understanding the media landscape is not only interesting but provides an awareness for which news channels and celebrities have the most mass appeal.”
For most popular news sources on TV, online and video coverage, FOX News and CNN are clear favorites, but there is a big divide based on political affiliation:
| Outlet | Political Affiliation | TV News | Online News | Video News |
| FOX News | 21% | 17% | 20% | |
| Democrats | 8% | 6% | 8% | |
| Republicans | 39% | 35% | 38% | |
| CNN | 14% | 15% | 17% | |
| Democrats | 23% | 25% | 28% | |
| Republicans | 11% | 11% | 12% | |
| ABC News | 10% | 7% | 9% | |
| Democrats | 16% | 9% | 13% | |
| Republicans | 6% | 5% | 4% | |
| NBC News | 10% | 5% | 7% | |
| Democrats | 13% | 7% | 7% | |
| Republicans | 17% | 5% | 7% | |
| CBS News | 10% | 6% | 5% | |
| Democrats | 7% | 7% | 6% | |
| Republicans | 10% | 4% | 4% | |
| Local News | 14% | 11% | 10% | |
| Democrats | 12% | 9% | 8% | |
| Republicans | 10% | 12% | 10% |
Methodology: The 2019 Americans’ Favorite News Media Sources and Personalities Survey was commissioned by Bospar and conducted online by Propeller Insights in November of 2018. Propeller Insights surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. adults.
About Bospar: Bospar is a boutique tech PR firm featuring a team of highly seasoned professionals who exist to put tech companies on the map. Bospar’s principals include a long-time PR and tech industry guru, a former broadcast TV producer and award-winning media maven, a standout PR agency manager from the corporate side of a leading global law firm, and an experienced executive with both large agency and public company credentials. Bospar’s larger team includes experts in both social and traditional media, as well as financial and analyst relations and public affairs.
