Public Distrust: NBC Dead Last in Trust Poll

Only 3% trust NBC the most, 6% MSNBC.

A new poll from Public Policy Polling reveals just how low public confidence in NBC and MSNBC has fallen, while Fox News remains by far the most trusted of the 8 major news outlets.

35% of Americans say they trust Fox News more than any other TV news outlet, followed by 14% for PBS, 11% for ABC, 10% for CNN, 9% for CBS, 6% each for Comedy Central and MSNBC, and 3% for NBC.

NBC’s dead last position in the “most trusted” category, with its sister outlet MSNBC next lowest on the list, comes after a series of public embarrassments for the company, including the humiliating Martin Bashir and Alec Baldwin dismissals. However, though MSNBC fares worse than CNN in the category, it regularly beats the struggling CNN in the cable news ratings but ranking a distant second to Fox.

As for Fox’s dominance, PPP points to the more unified nature of Republicans’ news preferences, with 69% of Republicans turning to Fox as their most trusted source and no other outlet receiving more than 7%. This is no surprise, of course, as Fox is the only right-leaning news provider of the major outlets, as is demonstrated by Democrats’ overwhelming distrust of the channel (it earned 57% of their “least trusted” vote).

Democrats are far less unified in their opinion of the trustworthiness of the major news outlets, ranking PBS highest (21%), CNN and ABC tied for second (18% each), and MSNBC and CBS tied for fourth (both at 12%).

While Fox dominates the "most trusted" category, it also leads PPP’s “least trusted” category at 33% with Democrats overwhelmingly distrusting it. MSNBC comes in second at 19%, with 38% of Republicans listing it first.

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