NEW YORK (AP) — As a Democrat who immersed himself in political news during the presidential campaign, he has a lot in common with many Americans since the election. It’s been busted.
“People are mentally exhausted,” said Awnallah, 45, of San Diego. “Everyone knows what’s coming and we’re just taking some time.”
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Television viewership ratings – and now a new poll – illustrate this phenomenon clearly. About two-thirds of American adults say they have recently felt the need to limit media consumption about politics and government because of overload, according to the survey by The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The poll says that smaller percentages of Americans limit their receipt of news related to foreign conflicts, the economy, or climate change. Politics stands out.
The 47-year-old electrician from Lincoln, Nebraska, said election news on CNN and MSNBC were taking up a lot of Sam Good’s time before the election. “The last thing I want to watch right now is an interregnum,” said Judd, a Democrat who is not a fan of President-elect Donald Trump.
Poll finds that more Democrats are turning away from the news than Republicans
The poll conducted in early December showed that about 7 in 10 Democrats say they turn back on political news. The percentage is not high for Republicans, who have reason to celebrate Trump’s victory. However, about 6 in 10 Republicans say they felt the need to take some time off as well, and the percentage of independents was similar.
The differences are most pronounced for television networks that are consumed by political news.
After Election Night through Dec. 13, MSNBC’s prime-time audience averaged 620,000 people, down 54% from the pre-election audience this year, the Nielsen company said. In the same time period, CNN’s average viewership of 405,000 fell by 45%.
At Fox News, the favorite news network for Trump fans, the post-election average of 2.68 million viewers rose 13%, Nielsen said. Since the election, 72% of people who watch one of these three cable networks in the evening are watching Fox News, compared to 53% before Election Day.
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The decline of the losing candidate’s fans after the election is not a new trend for networks that have become largely known to partisan audiences. MSNBC faced similar problems after Trump was elected in 2016. Same for Fox in 2020, though it was complicated by anger: Many of its viewers were angry then over the network’s election-night critical call in Arizona for the Democratic presidential nominee; Joe Biden, and sought alternatives.
MSNBC had its own anger issues after many Morning Joe viewers were upset by hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski visiting Trump shortly after his victory last month. However, while the show’s ratings are down 35% since Election Day, that’s a smaller decline than the network’s prime-time ratings.
CNN notes that while its TV ratings have struggled, its streaming and digital ratings have been consistent.
Will political interest rebound when Trump takes office?
MSNBC can take some solace in history. In previous years, the network’s ratings have rebounded when the depression that followed an election loss lifts. When a new administration takes power, people who oppose it often look for a place to gather.
“I will go back to work as soon as the clown show starts,” Aoun Allah said. “You don’t have a choice. Whether you want to hear it or not, it’s happening. If you care about your country, you have no choice but to care about it.”
But the journey may not be smooth. The MSNBC segment is sharper than it was in 2016; There is some question about whether Trump’s opponents will want to participate to the same extent as they did during his first term. People are also disconnecting from cable TV at increasingly rapid rates, although MSNBC believes it has bucked the trend that eroded audiences before.
The poll indicates that Americans want less talk about politics from public figures in general. After an election season in which endorsements by celebrities like Taylor Swift made headlines, the poll found that Americans are more likely to disapprove of celebrities, big corporations and professional athletes who speak out about politics.
However, Judd is among those who have found other ways to get the news he wants to care about, including on YouTube.
MSNBC is also facing some institutional turmoil that raises questions about potential changes. Parent company Comcast announced last month that the cable network is among some of the properties it will transition into a new company, giving MSNBC new leadership of the company and severing its ties with NBC News.
Advice for networks that want viewers back
Some Americans who have turned away from political news recently also have some tips for getting them involved again.
Judd said, for example, that MSNBC will always have a die-hard audience of Trump haters. But if the network wants to expand its audience, “you have to talk about the issues, and you have to stop talking about Trump.”
Kathleen Kendrick, a 36-year-old sales representative from Grand Junction, Colo., and a registered independent voter, said she hears a lot of people being vocal about their political views on the job. She wants more depth when she watches the news. She said much of what she sees is one-sided and shallow.
“You get a story but only part of the story,” Kendrick said. “It would be great to be able to get both sides and do more research.”
Likewise, Awnatullah is looking for more depth and variety. He said he was no longer interested in “seeing the angry guy in the corner yelling at me anymore.”
“It’s kind of their fault I’m not watching,” he said. I felt like they spent all this time talking about the election. They make it so their focus that when the main event is over, why would people want to keep watching?
The survey of 1,251 adults was conducted December 5-9, 2024, using a NORC probability sample
