Trump vs. Fox News: The Effects of Attacking and Defending Partisan Media

• In Event: News Bias, Representation and Accountability

Abstract

Donald Trump has infamously labeled mainstream and left-leaning news media “the enemy of the people” in speeches and on social media. Yet recently, his critiques of the press have also taken aim at a surprising target: Fox News. Drawing on an original content analysis of Trump’s tweets since the start of his administration, this paper first finds systematic evidence that Trump has increased his attacks on Fox over time. Next, two original survey experiments examine the effects of such rhetoric, particularly to understand how Republicans adjudicate between competing loyalties to Trump and this in-party news outlet. The first experimental study finds Trump’s attacks on Fox News significantly change both Republicans’ and Democrats’ perceptions of the outlet’s coverage and ideological bias, and actually increase Democrats’ willingness to consume the channel’s content. Results from the second experimental study suggest Trump’s attacks on Fox News and promotion of alternative far-right outlets significantly undermine Republicans’ views of and willingness to consume Fox relative to OANN. Finally, the results examine whether Fox anchors can counter Trump’s attacks by defending themselves, and find such defenses are sometimes effective, but typically only among Republicans. Taken together, the results speak to both the effects of politicians’ attacks on the press and the degree to which journalists can defend themselves against such rhetoric.

Author

• Allison M.N. Archer, University of Houston