Partisan divide seen in Oklahomans’ trust in news media

June 19, 2018

Brandon Dutcher

One of the more interesting questions in an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll of American voters last year was this: “How much do you trust the media: A great deal, a good amount, not very much, not at all?”

That seemed like a good question to pose to Oklahoma voters as well. And according to a new statewide survey of 502 likely Oklahoma voters commissioned by OCPA and conducted by Cor Strategies (margin of error: plus/minus 4.37 percent), Oklahoma Democrats trust the news media much more than Oklahoma Republicans do.

Though the news media’s trust rating is underwater among Oklahomans generally, what’s fascinating is the partisan divide. Two in three Oklahoma Democrats say they trust the media “a great deal” or “a good amount.” Meanwhile, nearly three in four Oklahoma Republicans say they trust the news media “not at all” or “not very much.”